


You Belong with Me

by musingsandmisunderstandings



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Meddling, Mild Language, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Romance, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-05-06 21:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14656575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musingsandmisunderstandings/pseuds/musingsandmisunderstandings
Summary: Nicole has been watching Waverly from the bleachers for much longer than she cares to admit and her friends have already taken notice. They decided that they're going to take it upon themselves to help "Oblivious Idiots in Love." Nicole's best friends have a plan and they've recruited the rest of their band of misfits. Trust them, they know what they're doing... kind of. Maybe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Earpers, so I got the original concept for this fanfic from Taylor Swift's You Belong with Me, which may or may not be one of my guilty pleasure songs... anyway, I thought this fic was going in a different direction, but these characters have taken it upon themselves to hijack my work, so it's very loosely based on the song now. I love WayHaught, WynHaught BrOTP, the Earp Sisters, and I actually enjoyed Shae's character on the show, so all of these relationships (and characters) will be at the epicenter.
> 
> If you'd like to follow me on Twitter, you'll find me at @haughtwaves. I don't post all that much, but when I do... it's 9/10 times Wynonna Earp-related.
> 
> Happy reading!

Nicole can’t seem to pull her eyes away as Waverly emphatically gestures around herself with one of her hands while the other one appears to grip tightly at the phone she has pressed to her ear. Her demeanor leaves no doubt that Waverly is unhappily arguing with whoever is on the other end of the line, and if Nicole has to guess, James Hardy is likely on the receiving end of Waverly’s wrath.

 

She tries and fails to ignore Waverly as she continues watching as Waverly paces around her own bedroom. Her eyes follow Waverly as she walks back and forth, back and forth, completely oblivious to the fact that Nicole has a front row seat to her fury as she continues to argue with the poor, unfortunate – though likely deserving – soul who is on the other end of the line.

 

Nicole blinks to herself, pushing herself out of her stupor and with the determination to get her mind off of Waverly, only to have her thoughts drift, inevitably bringing a particular thought to the forefront of her mind. Nicole doesn’t understand how someone like Waverly Earp can give someone as undeserving as Champ – someone who can’t win a damn thing if his life depends on it and who managed to pester all of their classmates into calling by a ridiculous nickname – her attention, but Nicole knows better than to let herself linger too long on that particular thought or she risks giving herself a massive headache.

 

She can’t help but roll her eyes at herself as she shakes her head and tries to redirect her thoughts. She takes a deep breath, letting the air in and holding it for a few seconds before she slowly lets it out and drops gracelessly onto her bed. The headboard hits the wall with a soft thud and she blindly reaches for her phone with one of her hands, letting her fingertips brush against it as a triumphant smile appears on her lips and she grasps it firmly in her hand. She brings it up to her face, unlocks it, and pulls her music library up. She taps on her favorite playlist, places it on shuffle, and feels the tension ease out of her body as Peter Bradley Adams’s Between Us starts playing, flowing through the Bluetooth speaker that her brother and sister had gotten her for her birthday.

 

Nicole closes her eyes and wills her body to relax, her thoughts eventually drift back to Waverly and she finds herself fixated on a specific memory, something that had happened earlier that afternoon.

 

She had been huddled up with the rest of the girls’ and boys’ varsity soccer teams. They had all been wearing similar expressions on their faces because they had been forced to stop in the middle of their practices and watch helplessly as the football team stormed onto the field. Purgatory High School’s athletic department had once again succeeded in double-booking the field and the football team had taken it upon themselves to claim the entire field for themselves, choosing to completely ignore how many times their coaches had been told that they had to share the field with the soccer teams and disregarding the soccer players and coaches that had been practicing on the field when they had shown up _late_ to start their own practice.

 

Realistically, Nicole had known somewhere deep, deep down that if Champ _wasn’t_ the football team’s quarterback or if the Blue Devils football team _was_ actually worth a damn, she wouldn’t have been anywhere near as bitter about the whole situation, but Champ _was_ the football team’s quarterback and the Blue Devils team _wasn’t_ worth a damn.

 

Both of the soccer teams had been left unable to do anything more than talk amongst themselves about how the school’s administration wasn’t even trying to hide their favoritism towards the football team and how the whole damn thing didn’t really make any sense while they stood on the sidelines.

 

As she had stood there with her teammates, she had been unable to keep herself from letting her eyes wander over to where the cheerleaders were in the middle of their own practice. She couldn’t even be bothered to pretend that she hadn’t immediately sought out the Blue Devils cheerleading team’s captain, Waverly, who had been seamlessly alternating between leading the other cheerleaders through their routine and breaking away from formation to watch them all go through the motions and stepping in to offer pointers if she knew they would benefit from it.

 

“You’re thinking about Waverly again, aren’t you?” An all-too-familiar voice asks with a hint of amusement in their tone, startling Nicole out of her memories. She jolts up, her cheeks reddening as she barely keeps herself from falling off of the bed. Oh, yeah, with a dramatic reaction like that one… there’s no doubt in my mind that you were thinking about her again.” Shae says with a knowing smirk on her lips and an amused gleam in her eyes as she meets Nicole’s gaze. “You’re lucky that I was never the jealous type.” She continues teasingly, tightening her lips to keep herself from laughing out loud as she notices how Nicole is glaring at her.

 

“Shut up, Shae.” Nicole growls out as she quickly pushes herself off of her bed. She groans as she stretches her limbs, watching as Shae walks around her bedroom calmly and takes in her surroundings as if she hasn’t been in Nicole’s bedroom dozens of times in the past. “I wasn’t thinking about Waverly.” She was quick to argue. I was actually thinking about how stupid the situation we had to deal with at practice today was.”

 

“Oh, okay, so you were thinking about how much you want to wring Champ’s neck… and that inevitably had your thoughts drift to Waverly, like they always do.” Shae says knowingly. She doesn’t have to look at Nicole to know that she is right. “I know how that beautiful brain of yours works, Nicole Haught. You need to start remembering that.”

 

“Even if I had been thinking about Waverly, it’s not like it actually matters.” Nicole mutters sullenly, pointedly avoiding Shae’s gaze. Instead, her eyes involuntarily drift back to her bedroom window and she feels her heart jump into throat the moment she unexpectedly meets Waverly’s gaze. She watches with wide eyes as Waverly’s own eyes widen in surprise. Nicole quickly looks away and clears her throat. “Waverly is dating Champ, so either way, it’s a moot point.”

 

“If you say so.” Shae says with an exasperated sigh. “We should probably get started on our History project. The sooner we can get it finished, the sooner I can finally stop singing _We Didn’t Start the Fire_ to myself all day, every day. Don’t get me wrong, Mrs. Lucado is a pretty cool teacher and everything, but she should really consider putting this beloved project of hers to rest already.”

 

Nicole can’t help but laugh lightly as she pulls her MacBook out of its protective sleeve and places it gently on her desk. She settles into her seat with Shae at her side and they spend the rest of the evening setting up an outline and laying down the groundwork for their project.

 

* * *

 

  
“Are you planning to complain the entire time that we’re here?” Nicole growls out, unable to hide her annoyance even as her attention stays steady on something, or something else. She tries and fails to keep herself from smiling too brightly as she watches as Waverly leads the Blue Devils crowd in yet another chant.

 

“Oh, come on… like answering that question is actually going to make a difference.” Shae mutters loudly enough that there was no doubt in her mind that Nicole had heard her. “We both know why we’re spending our Friday night sitting here instead of hanging out at your house with bowls of popcorn with Reese’s Pieces and M&M’s mixed in, in hand and a Scream movie marathon playing on the huge screen you guys have in the _Haught Cave_.”

 

Nicole barely resists the urge to roll her eyes, ignoring the truths in Shae’s statement as she redirects her attention to the football game that she’d claimed she wanted to watch. She sighs deeply as the ball is intercepted and the Blue Devils lose possession of the ball… again. “Why is Champ the quarterback again? He sucks at it.”

 

“Well, it’s not like it matters much, Nicole. It’s not like we’re here to watch him and the rest of the football team stink up the field.” Shae says knowingly as she catches Nicole staring at Waverly… again. “Oblivious idiots.” She mutters to herself.

 

“We’re here to support the Blue Devils.” Nicole argues, her attention quickly recaptured by the cheerleaders who have started jumping in place, diligently working to hype up the crowd.

 

Shae looks at the scoreboard and rolls her eyes when the score registers. “Nicole, we’re losing by twenty-one points to who is supposedly the worst ranked team in the district.” She unnecessarily points out. “Waverly can do so much better than likes of Champ, you know. I know that she’s smart enough to know that too… and I’m pretty sure that I’ve caught her making eyes at someone else during Mrs. Lucado’s lectures to be honest.” Shae admits with an air of nonchalance with almost crumbles when she sees the expression on Nicole’s face.

 

“Wait, what?! Who?!” Nicole exclaims without giving herself a chance to take her surroundings into account. Her cheeks redden immediately as a few people’s heads quickly turn in her direction, their expressions varying between confused and annoyed. She hadn’t meant to be so loud, obviously, but Shae’s words had hit a nerve and she’d reacted without thinking. She smiles innocently at them, her dimples flashing as one by one they smiled back and returned their attentions to the football game. Her smile drops as she turns her attention back to Shae and shoots her a withering glare. “Who?!” She whispers harshly.

 

Shae rolls her eyes, an amused laugh escaping her lips as she meets her best friend’s gaze head-on. “How is it possible that you’re so oblivious?” Shae asks in wonder as she shakes her head. “I was talking about you, Nicole. The person that I’ve caught her making eyes at is _you_ , but you can’t see that because every time she’s staring in your direction, you pointedly avoid looking in her direction because you think it’s because she caught you staring and vice-versa… honestly, it’s like you guys are playing a never-ending game of Peek-a-Boo or something.”

 

Nicole can feel her cheeks reddening again. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Shae.” She mutters even as her eyes drift back to where Waverly is. She can’t contain her smile as she watches the cheerleading captain smile brightly at the crowd as she shakes her pom-poms at them. “Waverly isn’t interested in me _that_ way.”

 

“How do you know that?” Have you actually stopped avoiding her long enough to talk to her about your feelings?” Shae asks, already knowing what Nicole’s answer is going to be before she starts shaking her head. “Then how can you be so sure?”

 

“Well, let’s see… we’re only a few months into our senior year of high school and it’s already blatantly obvious that Waverly is going to be our class valedictorian because she’s been the smartest person in our grade, she’s the Blue Devils cheerleading captain. She’s probably going to win this year’s Homecoming Queen crown in a few weeks and the Prom Queen crown a few months after that because there’s not a single person in town who’d vote against the _Nicest Person in Purgatory,_ and I’m just – I’m just Nicole.” She says with a humorless laugh.

 

Shae watches Nicole briefly before she turns her attention to where the cheerleaders are standing. Her eyes land on Waverly and she can’t help but smile slightly as she catches Waverly openly staring in Nicole’s direction. Waverly looks visibly concerned as she stares at Nicole, probably sensing her best friend’s unease and in that moment,  Shae can barely resist the urge to roll her eyes at them both… again. _Idiots_. She thinks to herself as she places a comforting arm around Nicole’s shoulders and pulls her into a side-hug. “Nicole Haught, have I ever told you how obtuse you tend to be about certain things? Because when it comes to things like this… you have no idea what on Earth you’re talking about.” Shae states firmly but not unkindly. “First of all, you’re talking about Waverly like she’s suddenly some kind of unreachable entity when she’s not. Hell, it’s not like she’s some random stranger to you, she’s one of your best friends. When you’re not hanging out with Wynonna, or with me, you’re hanging out with Waverly. Actually, now that I really think about it, you spend more time with Waverly than you do with Wynonna –“

 

 “Waverly and I haven’t hung out with each other in weeks.” Nicole is quick to interrupt and point out.

 

“Yeah, but that’s because you’ve been avoiding her like the plague!” Shae exclaims, unable to hide her annoyance and pointedly ignoring the warning glare that Nicole shoots in her direction. “Oh, no… it’s the Haught Glare. I’m terrified… seriously, Nicole, stop glaring at me like that. It’s creepy.” She reprimands with an amused smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “Secondly, you’re smart as fuck too. Waverly might be the smartest person in our grade, but you’re the second smartest.” She lifts her hand up, wordlessly silencing Nicole before she could even consider opening her mouth to interrupt her with a bullshit argument. “Thirdly, not only are you a gifted athlete, you’re also the Lady Blue Devils team captain and one of the top athletes that this school has ever had, and if for some reason you don’t get an academic scholarship, which I have no doubt that you will, you’ll be getting an athletic scholarship and don’t try to tell me otherwise because you already told me about the scouts that showed up to speak with you during the first week of season conditioning. Finally, if you don’t quit talking about yourself like you’re not one of the most incredible human beings I’ve ever met, we’re going to have a serious problem.”

 

 “You say that as if you actually think you can kick my ass or something.” Nicole says with a laugh and a roll of her eyes, trying to downplay all of the compliments that Shae had quite aggressively given her, even as her cheeks continue to redden. said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes, even as her cheeks continued to redden. “This whole conversation is a waste of time.” She states as her eyes drift over to the scoreboard, the _28 – 0_ score displayed on the board was more than enough to have her feeling secondhand embarrassment.

 

“Nice divergence tactic, Nicole, but it’s not going to work. Now, I might not be able to kick your ass, but we both know that Wynonna Earp would be more than happy to give it a try. You know as well as I do that she’s not going to react well when I tell her that you’ve been talking down on yourself… again.” Shae rebuts. “We’re your best friends, Nicole, and just because you like to try to ignore your own worth doesn’t mean we’re going to let you get away with it.”

 

“Why are you even bringing Wynonna into this?” Nicole asks. “It’s not like she knows that I have feelings for Waverly.”

 

“Uh, she does know.” Shae supplies nonchalantly.

 

“What?! How?” Nicole asks with an incredulous look on her face, barely remembering that she needed to keep her voice down. “Did you say something to her about it?”

 

“No!” Shae whispers back sternly, annoyed that Nicole would ever think such a thing. “I didn’t have to tell her anything… she already knew.”

 

"She already knew?!" Nicole asks in shock.

 

“Well, yeah…” Shae says with a shrug of her shoulders. “I mean, I know you and I have gotten even closer as friends since we broke up, and you’re my best friend and all, but Wynonna is _your_ best friend and you’re _hers_. Wynonna has always been the one who knows you. I think she might’ve even known that you were developing feelings for Waverly long before you were willing to admit it to yourself. I know she might not be the most observant person sometimes, but when it comes to you and when it comes to Waverly… Wynonna Earp is _always_ paying attention.”

 

“You bet your sweet ass I pay attention.” Wynonna says, startling them out of their conversation as she gracelessly sits down behind them with a tray of nachos and cheese held precariously in her hands. “What exactly is it I pay attention to?”

 

“Nicole and her feelings for Waverly.” Shae states nonchalantly.

 

“Oh, yeah.” Wynonna nods. “When it comes to your feelings about Waverly, you’re not as subtle as you think you are, Haught Shot.”

 

Nicole blinks as her eyes shift between her two best friends. She opens her mouth to say something, only to close it again when she realizes that she doesn’t know how to even begin to argue with Wynonna’s statement. “What are you doing here, Wy?”

 

“I’m doing the same thing you’re doing… well, kind of.” Wynonna quickly corrects herself after realizing what she might’ve accidentally implied. “I’m not here to ogle my little sister in her cheerleading uniform. That’s just gross. I’ll leave that to y – you know what? I’m going to stop talking now because I don’t like where this conversation is going anymore. Nacho?” She says as she thrusts her tray in-between Nicole and Shae.

 

Nicole shakes her head, silently declining Wynonna’s offer. “I thought you weren’t coming into town this weekend.” She says, watching with amusement in her eyes as Shae keep her eyes on Wynonna to gage her reaction as she cautiously reached out to grab a handful of tortilla chips.

 

“You thought wrong.” Wynonna says nonchalantly. “I got home a few hours ago, actually.”

 

“Why didn’t you text me or call me when you got home like you usually do?” Nicole asks.

 

“I would’ve, but I spent the last few hours with Waverly who insisted on talking my ear off about you. Apparently, you’ve been avoiding her and she’s struggling to figure out if she’s more concerned about your well-being or more pissed off at you for avoiding her.” Wynonna states with a shrug of her shoulders. “I told her that you were probably off busy doing stuff, you know? Things. But here you are, sitting on the bleachers at a high school football game, playing a riveting game of Peek-a-Boo with my little sister whenever she’s in-between cheerleading routines, so… there’s that.”

 

"Wait, Waverly might be pissed off at me?"

 

“Wow.” Wynonna says, staring at Nicole blankly for a few seconds before she turns her head in Shae’s direction and meets her gaze. “I thought she was supposed to be the smartest person in school after Waverly. I don’t remember her being this oblivious when the two of you were dating.”

 

“That’s because she wasn’t.”

 

“Hey!” Nicole exclaimed. “I’m sitting right here!”

 

“We know.” Shae and Wynonna state simultaneously.

 

Nicole rolls her eyes, choosing to ignore Wynonna and Shae as they both start laughing at her expense, her eyes drift to Waverly as she claps her pom-poms together, she feels her heartbeats pick up speed in her chest as their gazes meet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Earpers! I'm so stoked to see that you guys enjoyed the first chapter. I don't know know how long this is going to be, because unfortunately these characters either have a mind of their own and they go on for hours, or I can't seem to get through more than a few sentences, but I'm shooting for a minimum of 4 chapters, so we'll see how that goes.
> 
> Happy reading!

“Just so you know, I’m taking this to mean that you’re not avoiding me anymore.” Waverly states matter-of-factly as she walks up to where Nicole is sitting with her back perched up against a post on the McCreadys’ front porch.

 

Nicole bites her lip, barely resisting the urge to laugh as relief floods through her system when she hears the teasing tone in Waverly’s voice. She looks up and tilts her head in Waverly’s direction, watching as she walks up the driveway, makes her way up the porch steps, and then walks over to join her where she’s sitting. Nicole immediately uncrosses her legs and let them drop from where she had them perched, letting one leg rest on either side of the wooden railing. “Who says I’ve been avoiding you, Wave?” Nicole asks as she watches Waverly turn her back to the railing and lean her weight on Nicole’s thigh. “How do you know that I haven’t just been busy –“

 

“Doing _stuff and things_?” Waverly asks knowingly, unable to keep herself from interrupting with a playful smirk on her lips. “Yeah, I’ve already been told. How your history project coming along by the way?”

 

“Uh, well… it’s going.” Nicole admits with a sigh. “I’m pretty sure I heard Haley singing _We Didn’t Start the Fire_ in the damn shower this morning and I’m starting to think that Nathan’s been sneaking into my room in the middle of the night to play that song at a low volume while I’m sleeping.”

 

“Wait, what?” Waverly asks with an incredulous laugh. “Why would you possibly think he was doing that?”

 

“Yeah, well, I’ve uh – been having weird dreams lately or whatever, and I swear that I can hear that damn song playing somewhere in the background every single time and I doubt that it’s a coincidence.” Nicole admits with a shudder that Waverly can’t help but think makes her all the more endearing.

 

“ _We didn’t start the fire_ –“ Waverly starts to sing teasingly.

 

“Please, stop that.” Nicole quickly interrupts her with a groan.

 

“Hey!” Waverly laughs as she lifts her hand up and lightly smacks Nicole’s thigh in playful admonishment. “You told me that you like my singing.”

 

“No, I didn’t. If I remember correctly, I told you that I _love_ your singing, but it’s kind of hard to enjoy your talent when I hate that song.” Nicole explains with a small smile. “How is it possible that you’re not sick of this song yet? We’re all doing the same stupid project.”

 

“Well, technically, I’ve only listened to the whole song once.” Waverly admits with a shrug of her shoulders. “We listened to it in class the day Mrs. Lucado explained the assignment to all of us, we chose our partners – which I’m still kind of mad at you about by the way – “

 

“Wait a minute, what? How could you possibly be mad at me about that?” Nicole asks, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

 

“Because you chose to be partnered with Shae.” Waverly states as though the answer is obvious.

 

“So? You chose to be partnered with Champ and I’m not mad at you about that.” Nicole argues back.

 

“I didn’t choose to be partnered with Champ. I simply got stuck with him because you chose to be partnered with Shae.” Waverly huffs out, pointedly avoiding Nicole’s gaze as she argues back, choosing instead to pick at a loose thread on the denim skirt she is wearing.

 

“I’m, uh – I’m not really understanding what you’re mad about here, Waverly.” Nicole rebuts as she sits up a little straighter as if a change in position might help her better understand what’s going on in Waverly’s mind.

 

“Yeah, you wouldn’t.” Waverly mutters quietly to herself.

 

“What?” Nicole asks since she was unable to hear what Waverly said.

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Okay…” Nicole says hesitantly. Obviously, there was more going on with Waverly than she seemed to be willing to share with her at the moment, but she didn’t want to be the one to add to awkwardness that was settling in-between them. “Well, I didn’t know that you would’ve rather been partnered up with me on this project, so I’m sorry, Waverly. I should’ve asked you instead of assuming that you’d want to be paired up with Champ, or whatever, I guess.”

 

“No, no, wait. Hold on, Nicole. I’m sorry.” Waverly says with a sigh. “You don’t have to apologize for anything because you didn’t do anything wrong.” She continues, wanting to reassure her. “I’ve been stressing out about a few things lately, but that doesn’t justify me blowing up on you over something foolish. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, Wave.” Nicole says with a shrug of her shoulders, trying for nonchalance even as she felt the guilt starting to bubble up in the pit of her stomach. She knows that she would’ve known what was going on in Waverly’s world to stress her out so much if she hadn’t been declining every invitation that Waverly had extended to her to hang out or side-stepping her in the hallways at school at every opportunity. “You don’t have to talk about whatever is bothering you if you don’t want to, but you know, if you do want to talk to me about it, you can. I’m always here for you, Waverly.” Nicole reminds her kindly. She watches Waverly carefully, not wanting to jolt her out of her thoughts and giving her the opportunity to decide whether she wants to talk about whatever is bothering her or not.

 

“I broke up with Champ.” Waverly sheepishly admits to Nicole after a few minutes of comfortable silence between them.

 

“Oh.” Nicole breathes out, trying to reign in her surprise as well as the flutter in her stomach the felt suspiciously like _hope_. She doesn’t know what it was she was expecting Waverly to say, but to hear her say that she’d broken up with Champ… she hadn’t been expecting that at all. And now, she is finding herself at a loss because she’s not sure how she should react, or what she should say to Waverly. “I’m sorry?” She says, cringing slightly as she realizes that what she’d thought was going to come out as a comforting statement had sounded more like an unsure question than that to her own ears.

 

Waverly can’t help but laugh, a genuine laugh that takes Nicole by surprise. “No, you’re not. Obviously.” She says, and her eyes are twinkling in amusement as their gazes meet. “And I’m not sorry that I broke up with Champ, so you don’t have to try to comfort me.”

 

“You’re not?” Nicole asks. “I don’t?”

 

“No.” Waverly says with a laugh and a shake of her head. “Why would I be?” Waverly asks rhetorically. She meets Nicole’s gaze momentarily and a small smile tugs at her lips as she returns her attention back to the loose thread that she’d been playing with earlier. “I wasn’t happy with him.”

 

“Well… okay, when you put it that way, you’re right. I’m not sorry that you broke up with him. I’m only sorry to hear that you weren’t happy with him because if anyone deserves to be happy in this world, it’s you, Waverly Earp.” Nicole says confidently, her attention is drawn to Waverly’s hands, and she finds herself slightly mesmerized by the movements as she watches her continue to twirl the loose thread between her fingers. “How long ago did you guys break up?”

 

“We broke up a few weeks ago, actually.”

 

“Oh.” Nicole says, deflating slightly as understanding dawns on her. Now she knew why Waverly had sounded so upset about being paired up with Champ for Mrs. Lucado’s project. But she quickly works to shake herself out of it. She can’t let herself dwell on it too much now. She’d jumped at the opportunity to work on the project with Shae that day because she’d already been actively trying to avoid Waverly and she’d assumed that Waverly would want to work on the project with her _boyfriend_ instead of her… and suddenly, the guilt was back. “Fuck.”

 

“Yeah…” Waverly sighs out. “But it’s okay because I’ve been working on the project by myself since it was assigned to us. We both know that James Hardy isn’t really into doing any research, or reading, or writing, or anything that could be considered productive. If I’m the only one working on the project, I know I’ll get a good grade on it.”

 

“You make a good point.” Nicole says good-naturedly, a teasing smile on her lips as her eyes stay on Waverly’s.

 

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes after that, simply enjoying the light breeze, Waverly turns around at one point, her hands resting on Nicole’s thigh as they both sit and watch the younger neighborhood kids as they play in the streets. “I’ve really missed spending time with you, Nicole.” Waverly admits with a somewhat shy smile.

 

“I’ve really missed spending time with you too, Wave.” Nicole replies with a smile that showcased her dimples. “But I’ll make sure we make up for lost time now, I promise.”

 

“Yeah, I know you will, but this is our senior year in high school and we’ve got more important things to focus on right now. We’ve got to finish our projects for Mrs. Lucado’s class, I’ve got cheerleading practices and you’ve had pre-season conditioning and now you’ve got soccer practices every afternoon, oh, not to mention that homecoming week is only a few weeks away.”

 

“God, don’t remind me.” Nicole groans out. “Shae picked out her dress last weekend and I still haven’t decided if I want to wear a dress or a suit to match –“

 

“Wait, you’re going to the homecoming dance with Shae?” Waverly asks, her cheeks flushing pink when she realizes that she’d interrupted Nicole mid-sentence.

 

“Uh, yeah… I am.” Nicole answers somewhat hesitantly. She brings one of her hands up to rub at the back of her neck to ease the tension there. Waverly knows that it’s a subconscious movement that’s usually spurred on by Nicole’s nervousness. “We – uh, we agreed to go to the dance together a few weeks ago.” She admits, suddenly feeling self-conscious as she tries to understand what exactly had caused Waverly’s outburst. It had almost sounded like the brunette wasn’t too happy about her going to the dance with Shae, but Nicole knows that that kind of reaction wouldn’t make any sense because Shae and Waverly are good friends too.

 

“Oh.” Nicole continues to watch Waverly, trying and failing to keep herself from fidgeting as she watches the brunette who seems to be having an internal debate with herself until she finally speaks. “Well, I know you haven’t asked for my opinion, but I think you’d look really good in a fitted suit.” She says with a small smile on her lips, a smile that Nicole can’t help but notice doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “What color dress is Shae going to be wearing?”

 

“Navy.” Nicole answers quickly, unable to keep herself from smiling as she remembers how happy Shae had been when they’d gone shopping for dresses the previous weekend. She had seen the dress displayed on a mannequin and she’d practically dragged Nicole inside the store, tried it on, and bought it within 10 minutes. Nicole returns her attention to Waverly and she sees an expression on her face that she can’t quite identify that causes her own smile to fall slightly. “She, uh – she was really excited when she saw it.”

 

“I bet she was.” Waverly says, giving Nicole another small smile that reminds Nicole too much of the smiles that she’d seen the brunette give difficult customers at Shorty’s countless times when they were really testing her patience. “I think you should consider wearing dark colors too. Ooh, maybe a medium gray suit with a black shirt if you’re leaning towards wearing a suit, or a fitting black dress if you’re leaning towards wearing a dress… whatever you’re more comfortable with.”

 

“Yeah, that’s a great idea.” Nicole says with a smile even as the inner turmoil continues to build inside of her. She can’t help but think that Waverly seemed upset about her going to the dance with Shae, but suddenly Waverly is still smiling at her and the brunette’s eyes are twinkling again. _Maybe I’m just reading too much into this,_ she thinks to herself. “Thanks, Wave.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Earpers! I've got to be honest, I'm a fan of angst and misunderstandings, but I wouldn't mislead you guys into an unhappy ending for WayHaught, so bear with me while we've got these girls running circles around each other. And remember that Shae and Wynonna mean well!
> 
> Also, I'm sorry if my updates aren't the quickest, but I work 12-hour shifts, and unfortunately, that doesn't leave me with a lot of time to write, but I do appreciate your feedback and encouragement, so thank you!
> 
> Happy reading!

“How did you even get into my house?” Nicole asks as she walks into her bedroom to find that Shae has made herself at home while she’d been hanging out with Waverly.

 

“I climbed in through your window.” Shae answers without missing a beat as she continues skimming through an article she found on JFK. “Seriously, Nicole? Nathan let me in.”

 

“Oh, okay… that makes sense.”

 

“Obviously.”

 

“So, I think I might’ve done something wrong.” Nicole announces as she throws herself facedown onto her bed. “Or maybe I said something wrong… and now, I don’t know what to do about it.”

 

Shae doesn’t move an inch from where she is sitting cross-legged on her bed with her laptop resting on her lap and a legal pad and pen in her hands. “You’re late.” She says instead, not even bothering to take her eyes off the screen as she finishes writing some notes down. “So… how was Waverly doing today?”

 

“She broke up with Champ.” Nicole mutters, her words muffled by the pillow she landed on. “Waverly broke up with Champ weeks ago and I’m only now finding out about it!” She growls in frustration.

 

“Well, maybe if you hadn’t been so adamant about avoiding her for weeks, you would’ve known that already.” Shae states nonchalantly. “Hey, are you still planning to sketch all of these things out, or should I just start looking for pictures to print?”

 

“Okay, I get it… it’s my own fault.” Nicole groans. “And yeah, I’m going to sketch them out, but I wouldn’t mind having a few pictures as references to help me get a started, so if you’re willing to Google some, that’d be – wait a second, did you know that Waverly had broken up with Champ?!” She asks, pushing herself up from the bed so that she can sit up properly to meet Shae’s gaze.

 

“Duh.” Shae answers with a shrug of her shoulders.

 

Nicole quickly grabs the pillow that she’d been resting her head on and smacks Shae upside the head with it.

 

“Wow. Very mature, Nicole.” Shae mutters out as she drops her legal pad and pen haphazardly to the side and starts working to put her hair back into place. “Are you really that surprised that I knew? I mean, we all know that you’ve been avoiding Waverly lately, but that doesn’t mean that I was obligated to do the same thing.”

 

Nicole opens her mouth to argue only to close it again after a few seconds pass and she’s unable to come up with a good rebuttal. _As much as I hate to admit it, she has a point… not that I’d be stupid enough to admit that out-loud,_ she thinks to herself.

 

“Oh, while we’re on the subject of Waverly, I’m starting to think that she’s under the impression that there’s something going on between us again.” Shae admits as she gestures between the two of them with one of her hands. “So, I highly suggest that you talk to her about it and set the record straight – ha. _Straight_ , get it?” Shae takes one look at the horrified expression on Nicole’s face and can’t help but roll her eyes. “Come on, seriously? Wynonna would’ve laughed.”

 

“Fuck… I told Waverly that you and I are going to the homecoming dance together.”

 

“Oh…”

 

“Oh? Seriously?! That’s all you have to say?!” Nicole asks with a slightly panicked hitch to her voice.

 

“Well, I mean, if you can stop staring at Waverly like the lovesick puppy you are, and actually _talk_ to her about what’s going on under that fiery mess of yours, she’ll understand… or not.”

 

“You’re horrible.”

 

“Yeah, I kind of am.” Shae agrees with a shrug of her shoulders as she returns her attention to her laptop’s screen, completely ignoring the growl that leaves Nicole’s lips as she throws herself back down onto the bed.

 

* * *

 

Waverly has been laying in her bed since the moment that she’d stormed back into her bedroom after spending the afternoon hanging out with Nicole.

 

The two of them had spent the afternoon catching up with each other after weeks of not spending any significant amount of time together and it’d started to feel like things were finally getting back to normal… _for the most part_ , Waverly can’t help but think to herself as her thoughts drift back to the conversation that she’d had with Nicole about the upcoming dance.

 

She knows that she’d overreacted when she’d scolded Nicole about not being partners for their History project because at the end of the day, it was just a homework assignment, but in that moment,  she’d found it difficult to keep herself from admitting _why_ exactly she’d been so bothered by the redhead partnering up with her now ex-girlfriend.

 

 _Shae is one of Nicole’s best friends. Shae’s one of your friends too. Shae and Nicole broke up over eight months ago._ Waverly is quick to remind herself. _Not that I’ve been keeping track of how long it’s been since they broke up or anything._

 

“Hey, baby girl!” Wynonna exclaims as she barges into her little sister’s bedroom much like she always has, only to stop in her tracks as she takes in Waverly’s posture in her bed. She can’t possibly ignore how tiny Waverly looks in that moment as she sits with her back against the headboard, the plush unicorn that Nicole had won for her at the state fair a few years ago clutched tightly to her chest. “Uh, did somebody die or something?”

 

“Jeez, Wy. No, no one died.” Waverly answers with a roll of her eyes. “And what have I told you about walking into my room without knocking first?” She asks, wanting to direct her sister’s attention away from her sour mood.

 

“I can’t say I remember, but even if I did, I’d probably just ignore whatever it is you told me to be honest.” Wynonna admits with a shrug of her shoulders, a smirk appearing on her lips seconds before she launches herself onto Waverly’s bed and clumsily drapes herself over her.  “Seriously though. It’s obvious that you’re upset about something, so why don’t you just tell me what’s going on in that that beautiful mind of yours…”

 

“It’s nothing.” Waverly mutters as she subconsciously tightens her grip on her favorite stuffed animal.

 

“Yeah, I’m going to have to call _total bullshit_ on that one, baby girl.” Wynonna replies as she rests her head on Waverly’s lap and tries to catch and maintain her gaze. “What’s going on, Waverly? Wait, am I going to have to talk to Nicole about kicking your idiot ex-boyfriend’s ass since I can’t do it myself? Ooh, maybe I can convince her to accidentally kick the ball directly into his crotch or something during her next practice –“

 

“No, Wynonna.” Waverly interrupts. “Nicole is the team captain. She doesn’t need to go and get herself in trouble for going along with one of your foolish ideas.”

 

“Oh, come on… Haught Shot’s not stupid enough to get herself in trouble.” Wynonna reassures her with a confident scoff. “She’d easily make the whole thing look like she hadn’t meant –“

 

“No.” Waverly interrupts again, her tone brokering no argument.

 

“Okay, fine… whatever.” Wynonna grumbles as she buries her face into Waverly’s lap, resembling an admonished child in her mannerisms. “But I know that something’s bothering you, so you should talk to me about what’s wrong… or don’t, I guess. I mean, you can keep it to yourself or whatever if that’s really what you want to do. I’ll just keep laying here, annoying the shit out of you.” She says as she lifts her head up and meets Waverly’s obviously annoyed gaze with an expression that was a mix between stubborn determination and a hint of amusement. “Come on, Waves… you’ll feel better if you talk to me about it…” She urges with a sing-song voice.

 

 

“Nicole is going with Shae to the homecoming dance.” Waverly begrudgingly admits, trying and failing to appear nonchalant.

 

“Oh, yeah… and that’s bothering you?” Wynonna asks.

 

“You don’t sound surprised.” Waverly states. “Why don’t you sound surprised, Wy?”

 

“Because I’m not, Waves.” Wynonna answers while she quickly works to lift herself up from where she’d been laying comfortably in Waverly’s lap. She has a feeling that her little sister isn’t going to take what she has to say very well and she’s not too thrilled at the idea of taking a knee to her face. “Shae called me about a week ago and we were talking on the phone, as friends do, you know… and eventually she asked me what I thought about her asking Nicole to go to the dance with her –“

 

“And you told her it was a good idea?!” Waverly exclaims incredulously as she grabs one of the pillows at her side and throws it at Wynonna, smiling in smug satisfaction when the pillow bounces directly off her big sister’s face.

 

“Seriously, Waverly? Immature much?” Wynonna asks as she rubs at her face, scrunching up her nose as she tries to resist the urge to sneeze. She huffs as she carelessly tosses the pillow to the side and shrugs her shoulders. “And yeah, I did.” Wynonna continues, shrinking slightly into herself when she catches sight of the piercing glare that Waverly’s throwing in her direction. “Yeah, I’m going to need you to stop looking at me like that, baby girl. Let me explain what happened… so, here’s the thing, I was on the phone with John Henry about two weeks ago and he told me that Jeremy had told him that he’d overheard Perky Tits talking to Stephanie Jones in the hallway. Apparently, she’d decided that she was going to ask Nicole to go to the homecoming dance with her, so when Shae asked me what I thought about her asking Nicole I thought it’d be a much better idea if our Haughty with a Body went to the dance with someone who wasn’t Perky Tits – damn it… you’re pissed off at me now, aren’t you?” Wynonna finishes with a sigh.

 

“What the hell were you thinking, Wy?” Waverly asks as she jumps off of her bed, placing her hands on her hips as she keeps staring Wynonna down.

 

“Hey, chill. I was just trying to protect Haught Shot.” Wynonna explains, crossing her arms over her chest and staring back, her jaw clenching defiantly as she struggles to keep herself from getting too defensive.

 

“Protecting her from what exactly?” Waverly demands to know.

 

“Well, you know… Perky Tits can get all kinds of handsy.” Wynonna says as she uncrosses her arms and starts grasping suggestively at thin air. “So, I thought it’d be better if she went to the dance with someone who’d keep their hands to themselves. Look, I know I’m oblivious to a lot of shit or whatever, but I don’t really get why you’re so pissed off at me about this.”

 

“Because now she’s going to the dance with Shae who also happens to be her ex-girlfriend!”

 

“So?! I mean, it’s not like they’re going to fu – you know what, I’m not even going to finish that sentence.” Wynonna exclaims as she barely suppresses the urge to shiver as a very specific memory involving Nicole and Shae comes to mind. “Walking in on _all of that_ once was more than enough for me.” She mutters self-deprecatingly.

 

“What?!” Waverly exclaims.

 

“Oh, fuck…” Wynonna groans. “Waverly, seriously, baby girl… you’re overreacting. Nicole and Shae broke up months ago. They know that they’re better off as friends and they’re going to the dance together as friends.” She explains in the most reassuring way that she can muster. “I know that you have feelings for Nicole, important feelings, the best kind of feelings or whatever, but until you put yourself out there and tell Haughty with a – sorry – but, until you tell Nicole how you feel about her, you’re not really allowed to freak out about stuff like this.”

 

“I know that.” Waverly says defensively. “It’s not like I freaked out about it to her… or well, I didn’t mean to freak out on her about it. Wy, I was going to tell her how I feel about her today. I wanted to ask her to be my date to the dance.” Waverly admits, crossing her arms over her chest and hugging them to herself protectively. “I told her that I broke up with Champ.”

 

 _Finally, you shouldn’t have wasted any of your time with that jackass to begin with_ , Wynonna thinks to herself.

 

“And we got to talking about stuff and just as I was building up the courage to ask her to the dance, she told me that she was going with Shae.”

 

Wynonna walks up to Waverly and pulls her into a hug. “It’s going to be okay, baby girl.” She says gently in a way that she’s only her reserved for her little sister… and her best friend at times. She can feel the tension as it slowly starts to dissipate from Waverly’s body and she smiles to herself as she feels her hug being returned.

 

_Fuck... we fucked this up._

 

* * *

 

 

A few hours later, Wynonna walks into Nicole’s bedroom without knocking, confident that the days when she would’ve walked into something mentally scaring were gone… for the time being. _Ugh, I don’t really want to think about the interrupting anything in the future,_ she thinks to herself even as her lips twitch in amusement as she takes in the sight of her best friend sprawled out, face down, on her bed. “What the hell happened to her?” She asks Shae who’s been skimming through more articles on Nicole’s desktop.

 

“She told Waverly that we’re going to the homecoming dance together.” Shae answers without looking away from the computer monitor. “She was freaking out about it, so I thought I’d keep trying to get some work done on our History project while she listened to her _In My Feelings_ playlist and worked through her meltdown. It didn’t take her more than 10 minutes to fall asleep.” She explains nonchalantly. “I lifted her head, tilted it slightly to the side, and put a pillow under it so that she could actually breathe while she’s sleeping.”

 

“Her _what_ playlist?” “Wynonna asks with a confused expression on her face. “Never mind, but it’s probably a good thing that she’s knocked out because Waverly’s pissed off at me now.” She admits somewhat reluctantly as she makes her way over to where Shae is sitting and plops herself onto the bean bag chair that Nicole keeps tucked away in the that corner of her room. “That’s not even the worst part… I think I might’ve gone and made this situation a whole lot messier by accidentally mentioning that time that I walked in on you and Nicole doing it… with each other.”

 

“Seriously, Wynonna?” Shae asks incredulously as she stares her down.

 

“Hey, it’s not like I meant to do it.” Wynonna grumbles as she put her hands up in surrender. “I was just trying to make it clear to Waverly that you and Nicole are just friends –“

 

“By bringing up our past?”

 

“Yeah…” Wynonna sighs as she drops her hands into her lap. “I might’ve fucked all of this up, but I didn’t mean to. It’s just I start rambling, and… you know I meant well, right?”

 

“Yeah, I know.” Shae acknowledges with an understanding smile. She knows all too well how Wynonna’s mouth has a tendency of getting her in trouble. “Don’t worry too much about it, Earp. We’re going to help them get their shit together. Were you able to get Waverly’s measurements for me like I asked?”

 

“Yeah, I got Gus to help me out with that.”

 

“And how’d you manage to do that?”

 

“I told her that we’re trying to help Nicole and Waverly get their heads out of their asses. She nodded her head, told me to watch my language like she always does, and then walked into her room without saying another word to me. She came back a few minutes later with a slip of paper. “Wynonna explains as she pulls a small scrap of paper with Waverly’s measurements scrawled on them in Gus’s handwriting out of her pocket and hands it to Shae.

 

Shae smiles in understanding and her gaze momentarily drifts to Waverly’s bedroom window. “Nicole told me that Waverly gave her some suggestions for what she should wear to the dance. Apparently, your little sister is rather fond of the idea of seeing our best friend in a suit –“

 

“Ugh.” Wynonna interrupts with a groan. “That’s already too much information.”

 

“God, grow up, Wynonna.” Shae scolds with a roll of her eyes. “Nicole and I are going to start looking at her options tomorrow. I have a feeling she’s going to go with a suit, so she’s definitely going to need to get that tailored, so I’ll hand Waverly’s measurements to the tailor while Nicole’s in the fitting room.”

 

“How exactly are we planning to make sure that Waverly doesn’t end up agreeing to go to the dance with someone else?”

 

“I talked to Chrissy earlier. She’s going to ask Waverly to go stag with her.”

 

“I thought Chrissy was going to the dance with Perry. I mean, they’re dating, aren’t they?”

 

“Yes, they’re dating.” Shae acknowledges. “But it’s not like Chrissy is planning to spend the whole night trying to woo Waverly. She’s just going to go to the dance with her to make sure that she doesn’t go with anyone else. She’ll be able to enjoy her evening with Perry as soon as Nicole walks into the country club all smoldering in her suit to woo –“

 

“Ugh.”

 

“Seriously, Wynonna?”

 

“My bad… sorry.” Wynonna says, but the smirk on her lips betrays her apology, making it all too obvious that she’s not being genuinely apologetic. “Jeez. She’s such a heavy sleeper.” She says after a few minutes of comfortable silence. She turns her head in Nicole’s direction and her smirk turns into a small genuine smile as she watches the redhead sleep. Nicole is completely unaware that her two best friends are conspiring while she sleeps. Slowly, an idea starts to form in her mind and her eyes drift around the bedroom, her smile turning mischievous as she tries to spot what she’s looking for.

 

“Don’t even think about it. I’m not going to let you draw on Nicole’s face with permanent marker… again, Wynonna.” Shae says sternly, her eyes back on the computer screen and her pen back on her legal pad ready to write down more information as it comes up.

 

“I wasn’t –“

 

“Oh, yeah, you were.” “Shae interrupts her knowingly. “I’m going to work on this project and you’re going to go back home.”

 

“Fine…”

 

“And Wynonna, try not bring up my past relationship with Nicole to Waverly anymore.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Earpers! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this story, but life happens, you know? Anyway, this chapter is mostly focusing on the gang and their scheming ways with some WayHaught interaction in the background if you squint. 
> 
> How many Earpers am I going to meet at Earp Expo 2019?
> 
> Either way, happy reading!

“Honestly, I just don’t feel like going to the dance anymore, Chrissy.” Waverly admits somewhat reluctantly as she walks down the hallway making her way towards her locker with one of her best friends trying to match her quick steps. She knows that Chrissy had meant well when she asked her if she wanted to go to the dance with her, but unfortunately, her invitation had served as a reminder that the only person who she actually wants to go to the dance with is going with someone else. “Isn’t Perry taking you to the dance?”

 

“He wanted to go with me, but he’s got family coming into town to visit that weekend, so he’s kind of being forced to miss out on most of the dance. He did make me promise that I’d save my last dance for him though.” Chrissy explains, unable to contain her smile as she thinks about her boyfriend. “Why don’t you want to go to the dance anymore, Waverly? You were pretty excited about going a few days ago, so… what changed your mind?”

 

“Nothing… it’s stupid.”

 

“Yeah, I’m going to go ahead and call _bullshit_ on that. Three days ago, you were looking forward to looking through dress catalogs with me, but suddenly you’ve decided that you don’t want to go to our last homecoming dance.” Chrissy states. “What happened, Waverly?” She asks, not wanting to come off as overly pushy, but knowing that her best friend would come to regret it if she missed out on going to their senior year homecoming dance.

 

“Well, I might’ve been set on asking Nicole to go to the dance with me… as my date, but uh – Shae asked her before I got a chance to and Nicole agreed to be her date.” Waverly admits after a few minutes of tense silence between them.

 

“Oh.” Chrissy sighs as she tries to make sure it’s not too obvious that she already knows about that. She’d had a conversation with Rosita and Shae about it days ago and they’d talked about how Shae felt like she had to go ahead and ask Nicole to go to the dance with her because they’d all heard the rumors that were running rampant on campus about Perky Tits wanting to ask Nicole to be her date for the night. They’d all talked about it, Shae had called Wynonna, and eventually they’d all agreed as a group that it’d be better if Shae beat her to the punch. _And now, Nicole and Waverly are walking around campus, moping with their heads stuck up their asses while the rest of us are running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to run damage control for our oblivious idiots… crap. I think I’m starting to sound like Wynonna, maybe we’ve been spending too much time together,_ Chrissy thinks to herself.

 

“See… I told you it was stupid.” Waverly says glumly as they make their way towards their lockers. She grabs her lock, turns the dial back and forth as she puts in the lock’s combination, and pulls on it gently when she hears the lock click. She opens her locker, taking in its contents as she tries to remember if she’s supposed to bring her textbook into class this morning. “I might’ve made the mistake of building how I wanted that night to go in my head… I mean, I didn’t even get a chance to ask her if she wanted to go with me because Shae had already asked her. It’s not like I’m mad, or anything, because we’re all friends and it’s not like Shae knows that I have feelings for Nicole, so I know that she didn’t it do it on purpose, but even though I know that… it still kind of sucks.”

 

“It’s not stupid, Waverly.” Chrissy says, trying to reassure her. “I have no doubt in my mind that Shae would’ve been, and will be, just as supportive of your feelings for Nicole as Wynonna has been because she wants _your_ Haughty with –“

 

“Seriously, Chrissy? You’re calling her that too?!” Waverly interrupts with a huff.

 

“I’m sorry, not sorry, Waverly.” _She’s too busy reacting jealously to realize that I called Nicole hers,_ she thinks to herself with a cheeky grin. “Have you seen that girl’s body?”

 

“Whatever.” Waverly mutters as she slams her locker door shut and starts walking towards their classroom, knowing that Chrissy would follow behind her.

 

“Oh, come on, Waverly. Don’t be like that.” Chrissy calls out after her as she quickly catches up to her. She lowers her voice slightly as they near their classroom so that their classmates won’t be able to overhear them. “Are you sure that you want to just skip the dance? You’ll be missing out on a fun time if you don’t go.”

 

“I think you might be over-exaggerating a bit. It’s just a dance, Chrissy.”

 

“It’s going to be a great dance, Waverly!” Chrissy continues, hoping her enthusiasm will help encourage Waverly to change her mind. “We’re all going to be there. Jeremy, Dolls, Rosita, Nicole, Shae, and Doc and Wynonna are going as chaperones… which still surprises me to be honest. I’m not sure how Wynonna managed to get Mr. Moody to agree to that after she and Doc were caught making-out under the bleachers during last year’s homecoming dance when they were seniors.”

 

“Weirdly enough, Mr. Moody has always had a soft spot for Wy, so it’s not too surprising.” Waverly admits with a shrug of her shoulders as she walks into their classroom with Chrissy walking in a few seconds behind her. “But if any couples get caught under the bleachers during the dance this year, it’ll probably be because Doc and Wynonna were going down there to try to get a repeat performance in and someone else beat them to it.”

 

“That’s the kind of greatness you’d be missing out on if you don’t go!” Chrissy argues. “Come on. Please, Waverly…”

 

* * *

 

 

“Are you sure I looked okay?” Nicole asks as she walks down the crowded hallway with Shae by her side, her gym bag was swinging back and forth slightly as the two of them maneuver around their classmates towards their classroom.

 

“Nicole, you’re going to look hot as fuck in your vest when the tailor has finished adjusting it. Trust me.” Shae says, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her best friend. Nicole had been feeling a little self-conscious about how she looked in her suit since they’d gone shopping for it over the weekend. It’s not that she’s annoyed with Nicole because she understood where Nicole was coming from, but they’d been talking about it non-stop for a few days now and she was starting to run out of patience. While Nicole normally exudes self-confidence when it comes to her appearance, she’s been second-guessing herself lately and Shae has a sneaking suspicion that Waverly and Nicole’s mutual inability to sit down and talk about their feelings has a lot to do with it.

 

Shae is taking her role as undercover match-maker very seriously, so seriously that she’d created a new group chat that she’d lovingly dubbed _Oblivious Idiots in Love_ and she made sure that Wynonna, Doc, Rosita, Dolls, Jeremy, Chrissy, and Perry were all added so that they would be able to hash out all of the details for the upcoming dance as a team.

 

Admittedly, Shae has been feeling more than a little bit guilty about asking Nicole to go with her to the dance, especially after Wynona had told her that Waverly had had every intention of asking the redhead to go as her date, but they’d all panicked a bit when they’d heard that Perky Tits was planning to ask Nicole to be her date to the dance, so… unfortunately, they’d gotten ahead of themselves. They had jumped the gun, there was no denying that, but in an oddly sweet way that only Wynonna Earp could pull off, she’d given her a pep talk. _You won’t be able to keep your head in the fucking game if you keep overthinking shit,_ Wynonna had said. So, the entire group, excluding Nicole and Waverly for obvious reasons, had taken to bouncing ideas off of each other as they all tried to figure out what all of their roles would be in the days that lead up to the dance.

 

Shae rests her back against the side of Nicole’s locker, waiting patiently as the redhead switches out her books. She startles slightly when she feels her phone pulse repeatedly in her back-pocket, so she pulls her phone out and frowns as she reads the text messages that have started to come in.

 

**OBLIVIOUS IDIOTS IN LOVE**

**CHRISSY: Houston, we have a problem.**

**WYNONNA: ???**

**Perry: Babe?**

**Shae: What happened?**

She slips her phone back into her pocket, schooling her features as Nicole slams her locker closed and the start walking towards their homeroom, narrowly avoiding other students who are also trying to get to their own homerooms. She feels her phone repeatedly vibrate in her pocket again and finds herself struggling to keep herself from speeding up her pace, knowing that Nicole will get suspicious if she notices any signs of distress.

  

* * *

 

 

Shae carefully pulls out her phone from her back-pocket, silently thankful that Mr. Svane has chosen to have them read the next chapter of their textbook to themselves as she strategically places her phone on top of the pages that she’s supposed to be reading and joins the conversation already in progress with her co-conspirators.

 

**CHRISSY: Waverly doesn’t want to go to the dance.**

**JEREMY: What?!**

**ROSITA: What do you mean?!**

**ROSITA: What did she say?!**

**WYNONNA: Fuck.**

**DOLLS: And that surprises you?**

**WYNONNA: Are you always such a ray of sunshine, X?**

**CHRISSY: She just said she didn’t really want to go anymore…**

**CHRISSY: She was going to ask Nicole to the dance as her date.**

**WYNONNA: Well, yeah…**

**DOLLS: We already knew that.**

**ROSITA: She took too long to ask her!**

**ROSITA: We had to make an executive decision!**

**JEREMY: Wait, does this make it our fault?**

**WYNONNA: FOCUS, Jeremy.**

**DOC: Does this mean we’re moving on to Plan B?**

**PERRY: Plan B! Right, Shae?**

**CHRISSY: Shae?**

**WYNONNA: YO, SHAE!!!**

**SHAE: We don’t have a Plan B yet, you idiots!**

**WYNONNA: Oh, shit… she’s right, guys.**

**CHRISSY: EMERGENCY MEETING TODAY?**

**PERRY: Yeah.**

**JEREMY: Yep.**

**DOLLS: Yes.**

**DOC: Yes, ma’am.**

**ROSITA: DUH!**

**SHAE: YES. Wy, are you in?**

**WYNONNA: Yeppers. FaceTime.**

**JEREMY: Wait a minute… how do we know that Waverly and/or Nicole won’t show up and catch us all while we’re in the middle of this meeting.**

**WYNONNA: Trust me. We’re good. Waverly’s got cheerleading practice after school.**

**ROSITA: Okay, but what about Nicole?**

**WYNONNA: Haught Shot’s got soccer practice.**

**SHAE: Okay, then we’ll all meet at 5 o’clock sharp… I’m talking to you, Wynonna.**

**WYNONNA: Seriously?**

**ROSITA: Obviously.**

**CHRISSY: Yep.**

**WYNONNA: Rude.**

**PERRY: Uh, ladies… I don’t mean to interrupt, but Dolls and I have soccer practice after school too.**

**WYNONNA: Oh, crap.**

**SHAE: No, it’s cool. We’ll keep you guys in the know.**

**CHRISSY: Yeah, you guys can drop by after practice and we’ll let you know what we’ve decided.**

**WYNONNA: #FACTS**

**DOLLS: Thanks, ladies.**

**WYNONNA: Cool, so we’ve officially planned to make a plan.**

**JEREMY: Uh, is it weird that I actually understood what she said?**

**DOC: Not at all.**

**SHAE: No.**

**ROSITA: Nah.**

**JEREMY: Sweet!**

**WYNONNA: It’s nice to see that you’re starting to keep up, kid. Took you long enough!**

 

Shae can’t help but roll her eyes, unable to keep an amused smile to herself as she slips her phone back into her back pocket and pointedly avoids looking in Rosita or Nicole’s direction. Instead, she makes herself redirect her attention to her textbook and she lets her eyes skim over the words on the page, knowing she’s not taking in a single word.

 

She had foolishly assumed that Waverly would still want to go to the dance even if Nicole wasn’t her date, she was sure they all had, but apparently, they’d all severely underestimated what Waverly’s reaction would be. _Back to the drawing board,_ Shae thinks to herself.

 

A few minutes later, Shae unzips her backpack and starts digging around, grabbing ahold of her notebook and a pen. She knows that it’s in her best benefit to take notes on the text she’s supposed to be reading like Mr. Svane had suggested, especially since she was struggling to keep her mind from wandering to how they were going to get their oblivious yet lovable idiots on the right track.

 

* * *

 

Nicole has always loved practicing on Wednesdays more than any other day of the week, not only did they not have to share to field with the football team, but the boys’ and girls’ team coaches had kept a long-standing tradition going strong between their soccer teams to better help their players develop their skills individually, and as a team, on the soccer field. The tradition involved a weekly scrimmage match between the two teams where they players chose team captains and the team captains then chose the players they wanted on their teams based on the skill that the players possessed, not by their gender.

 

Nicole side-steps a defender as she dribbles the ball, continuing her sprint toward the goal post. She lifts her head up slightly, giving herself a few seconds to scan her surroundings and quickly decide her best course of action. She grins to herself as she watches the goalie sway anxiously from side to side, obviously trying to prepare himself to launch himself in front of the ball in an attempt to block her shot.

 

She volleys the ball from one foot to the other and takes off, dribbling directly towards the goalie. She knows that she can’t afford to waste too much time as she hears the defenders running after her. She feels her grin widen as the outer part of her left foot connects directly with the ball. She had known that the goalie would most likely misread her movements and she’d taken advantage of it. Dolls launches himself to his right, landing with a thud on the ground as the ball connects in a smooth-sounding crack with the net and her teammates’ cheers erupt around them.

 

“YES!” Nicole exclaims happily as she jumps in the air in celebration before she runs back to the center of the field, her teammates rushing to congratulate her on her second goal of the game. She hears additional voices chanting her name from the sidelines and her grin turns into a full-blown smile as she watches as the cheerleading team jumps up and down, pom-poms shaking in celebration as the cheering continues. One person’s voice ringing louder in her ears than the rest and can’t help herself in that moment as she meets Waverly’s gaze and throws a wink in her direction.

 

“Way to go, Haught Shot!” Perry shouts as he jogs past her and gets himself back into position, the excitement of scoring another point dissipating slightly as the players refocus their attention to the game.

 

* * *

 

“Uh, guys?” Wynonna prompts as her face appears on the computer screen. “When did we get a blackboard?” She asks as everyone else is trying to find somewhere to sit in Shae’s living room, shuffling around until everyone is sitting comfortably.

 

“Jeremy wanted to donate it to our cause.” Shae answers with a grateful smile in Jeremy’s direction as she grabs a piece of white chalk and writes _WayHaught_ on the board. She underlines it three times before she turns to all of her friends who were able to make it to their meeting.

 

“WayHaught?” Doc reads out with a confused expression on his face as he stares at the word on the board.

 

“It’s the code name for our operation!” Jeremy excitedly explains. “Way. Haught. Waverly Earp and Nicole Haught! Do you get it?!”

 

“That’s actually kind of brilliant.” Rosita says with an impressed nod. “Did you come up with that one yourself, Jer?”

 

“Uh, yeah… yeah, I did.” Jeremy admits somewhat sheepishly.

 

“Okay, yeah, good job, Chetri, really, but we’ve got to get serious about this, guys.” Wynonna says as she nods her head in Shae’s direction.  “Kick us off, Pressman.”

 

“Okay.” Shae says with an exasperated roll of her eyes. Shae loves her friends, she really does, but sometimes they liked to test her patience. “Guys, we’ve got a situation –“

 

“Waverly doesn’t want to go to the dance anymore because she thinks that Pressman went and stole her girl… again.” Wynonna supplies unhelpfully.

 

“Right, so what are we going to do about it?” Chrissy asks, knowing that they’re only going to waste more time if Shae takes Wynonna’s bait and they start arguing back and forth.

 

“Well, I don’t think we should keep going with what we were planning to do with them at the homecoming dance because Waverly doesn’t even want to go anymore, so I was thinking that we should consider trying to get them together before the dance –“ Shae starts to explain, only to be interrupted again.

 

“How are we going to do that?” Jeremy asks.

 

“Maybe we should consider getting them to go on a date.” Rosita states.

 

“Do you really think that’s the best idea right now?” Doc asks skeptically. “How do we know that it’s going to work?”

 

“I’m on board with Rosita’s idea.” Chrissy states confidently.

 

“Yeah, I am too.” Wynonna agrees. “But how are we going to do that? I mean, they’re feelings for each other are mutual, we all know that, but how are we supposed to get them to agree to go on a date when they’re still being chicken shits about this whole thing?”

 

“Who says they have to know that it’s a date?” Shae asks with a mischievous smirk.

 

“Ooh… I already like where this is going!” Wynonna cheers.

 

“Oh, boy…” Doc mutters quietly to himself even as he can’t keep himself from grinning as he watches his girlfriend as she starts spouting ideas along with Shae, Rosita, Chrissy, and Jeremy who have all sat up in their seats with similarly enthusiastic expressions as they realize how much work they’re all going to have to put into getting this new idea of theirs to work.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Earpers! I had the day off so I thought I'd get some writing done in-between watching the World Cup matches that were played today. I don't have much to say, other than we're not too much further from the end of this little story and I can't thank you enough for your positive feedback. I greatly appreciate it.
> 
> Anyway, back to the story!
> 
> Happy reading!

Shae can’t help but roll her eyes when she hears the telltale sound of heavy boots clomping up the stairs. She’s told Wynonna more times than she can count that she’s nowhere near as quiet as she thinks she is when she’s coming up the stairs, the sounds resonate loudly on the second floor either way, but the stubborn Earp insisted that she’d somehow be able to sneak up on her, and she was too determined to stop trying. “I already know that you’re halfway up the stairs, Wynonna.” She states completely unperturbed as she keeps typing on her laptop. “I suggest you get your ass upstairs quickly so that we can get to work on _Operation WayHaught_.”

 

Shae bits her bottom lip to keep herself from saying anything as she hears Wynonna grumbling as she quickly makes her way up the rest of the staircase. “How did you know it was me?” Wynonna asks as she walks into Shae’s bedroom and nonchalantly throws herself onto the bed.

 

“You’re nowhere near as stealthy as you seem to think you are.” Shae states. “Now, I’ve spoken to Jeremy and he’s gotten permission to borrow the inflatable big screen from the AV Department. I guess they didn’t ask too many questions since he’s the AV Club’s Golden Boy and all. Dolls and Perry are going to help him get it to Nicole’s house and set it up in the backyard –“

 

“Wait, so we’re actually going to do this in the Haughts’ backyard?” Wynonna interrupts. “Haught Shot might be oblivious when it comes to the heart-eyes that Waves is always throwing in her direction, but even she’s going to ask some questions if she looks out the window and sees half of our friends setting random shit up in her backyard.”

 

“It’s already been taken care of. I spoke to Haley and Nathan, and they’ve both given me their word that they’re going to keep Nicole out of the house until I send them a text telling them it’s okay to head home.”

 

“I can’t believe you got the older Haught siblings involved.” Wynonna deadpans.

 

“Are you judging me?” Shae asks with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Not at all, Pressman.” Wynonna answers with a smirk. “It’s a ballsy move to get them involved, but I wholeheartedly approve of your methods. Did you get Haught Shot’s parents involved too? How about her grandparents? Nana Haught can be pretty driven when her granddaughter’s happiness is at stake, you know. Did you get my mom involved too? You know how much she loves Nicole.”

 

“Shut up, Wynonna.” Shae laughs.

 

“Seriously though, that was a great idea. Let’s just hope that Haley and Nathan don’t hound Nicole too much. We don’t need her being all broody, tortured athlete when she walks into her date with Waverly tonight.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Nathan, stop.” Nicole growls out as she forcefully pushes her brother away, grinning in satisfaction when he momentarily loses his balance and barely catches himself on the wall.

 

“Oh, come on, Nicole. I’m not trying to piss you off or anything, I’m just trying to be a supportive older brother. Don’t you agree, Haley?” He asks innocently, barely suppressing an amused smile as he catches the hint of a smile on their big sister’s face.

 

“He kind of has a point, Nicole.” Haley defends him halfheartedly. “I mean, I know he’s being an annoying asshole about it, but it’s what he does –“

 

“HEY!” Nathan exclaims.

 

“Look, Nate, I know that you mean well, but you’ve got to understand that you’re not helping me much by asking me about Waverly every five minutes.” Nicole tries to explain as they continue making their way around the shopping center without a set destination in mind.

Nicole had been surprised when her siblings had practically barged into her bedroom that morning to demand that she get ready to spend her Saturday in their company. She’d done what they asked, silently thankful that she hadn’t woken up too sore after a grueling practice the previous afternoon. Haley and Nathan had rushed her into taking a shower before they’d left her alone to get dressed. She’d be lying to herself if she said that she hadn’t found their behavior odd, but with the three of them focusing all of their attention on school, their respective sports teams and other extracurricular activities, and part-time jobs, their bonding time had been non-existent as of late, so she was glad that her older siblings had chosen to spend their rare day off with her.

 

“I’m sorry, Nicole.” Nathan says, sounding genuinely apologetic as he wraps an arm around Nicole’s shoulders and clumsily pulls him to her in a side-hug. “I know how much she means to you and I just don’t want you to miss your chance to be happy with the girl you have feelings for, you know?”

 

“Nathan’s right.” Haley says as she wraps her own arm around Nicole’s shoulders, laughing lightly as the three siblings continue to walk, their hips bumping awkwardly against on another’s as they shuffle along. “I get that you don’t want us pushing the subject anymore, we both do.” She starts, sending a pointed glare in Nathan’s direction to reiterate her point. “But promise us that you’ll at least think about admitting your feelings to Waverly. I mean, it’s not like you’ve done a great job of disguising your feelings. Mom knows, Dad knows, we obviously know… honestly, at this point I think even Nana Haught knows.”

 

Nicole stops dead in her tracks at the mention of Nana Haught. “Nana knows?” She squeaks out.

 

“You’re not exactly subtle, Nicole.” Nathan answers as she stuffs his hands into his back-pockets and shrugs.

 

“Fuck… okay, okay.” Nicole nods, silently steadying herself. “I promise to think about it, okay?”

 

“Sweet!” Nathan exclaims.

 

“Thanks, Cole.” Haley says with a smile as she leans in to give her little sister a kiss on the cheek. “Now, as much as I’ve enjoyed this heart-to-heart conversation we’ve been having in the middle of the mall at 11:30AM this morning, I’m starting to get hungry, so how about we look at our food options?”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

* * *

 

“Okay, I’ve got the inflatable screen up and Perry already walked around the front of the house to see if it’s visible from there and it’s not, so Nicole won’t be able to see it when they drive up.” Jeremy says into his Blue Tooth earbuds as he double-checks the projector before he turns in on. He smiles proudly to himself as the screen lights up with an image.

 

“Sweet!” Wynonna exclaims as she drives into the backyard. “You’ve done good, kid. Now it’s my turn.” She says as she quickly throws her truck into reverse. She watches her mirrors as she lets Doc directed her into position, carefully following his signals. She smiles triumphantly to herself when he signals that she’s good. “Okay, I’m hanging up now that I’ve made it back to the Haught House. Otherwise, we’ll be weirdos talking to each other on the phone when we’re within hearing distance.” She says, not waiting for a response before she ends the call.

 

“Why exactly did we have to have a conference call if you were only 5 minutes away to begin with?” Dolls asks as he walks up to the truck with an array of blankets and pillows in his hands with Perry following closely behind him with more.

 

“I wanted to feel like a spy.” Wynonna answers honestly. She shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly as she opens the bed of her truck and moves out of the way so that the boys can get to work. “I totally felt like a spy.” She says to Doc as he walks up to her with an amused expression on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

 

“Oh, I’m sure you did, darling.” He says with a fond smile as he leans in to give her a light kiss on the lips. “Chrissy and Shae are off buying snacks and refreshments, but they shouldn’t be gone much longer.”

 

“And what have you been doing while I’ve been gone?” She asks him as she takes a good look at him, his cowboy is still resting on top of his head, but the flannel button-up shirt he’d been wearing that morning was gone and he now stood in a black tank top that untucked in some areas. Wynonna can’t help but let her eyes wander over his arms. _Hey, I’m only human,_ she justifies to herself.

 

“I was helping Jeremy tape things down and installing the twinkling lights that Mrs. Haught said would add a nice touch to this whole date scene that we’re trying to set up.” He answers, barely suppressing a grin as he realizes what has gotten Wynonna’s undivided attention. “Wynonna, we’ve got to finish setting this up and you’re going to have to leave soon after because you’re the one who’s been tasked with getting Waverly here.”

 

“Right.” Wynonna agrees with a jerky nod. “I logged into Nicole’s laptop, so we’ll have direct access to all of the movies in her iTunes library –“

 

“You know Nicole’s password?” Doc asks surprised.

 

“Duh. She’s my best friend. Why wouldn’t I know how to log into her computer?” Wynonna answers with a shrug of her shoulders. “Anyway, I was thinking we could start them off with a personal favorite of Nicole’s –“

 

“ _I Can’t Think Straight?”_ Rosita asks as she walks out of the house with a memory foam mat and wordlessly hands it to the boys who start grumbling to themselves when they realized that they’re going to have to take everything they’d already set up down so that they can put the mat on the bottom to prevent Nicole and Waverly from getting uncomfortable.

 

“That’s movie is definitely in her Top 5.” Wynonna acknowledged with nod. “But _She’s the Man_ is her favorite movie. It probably has something to do with the soccer part… I don’t know.”

 

“It’s pretty sweet to see firsthand how much you know your best friend. You’re such a softie.” Rosita says teasingly, yet genuinely in a way that makes Doc smile as he looks at his girlfriend, his eyes brimming with pride. “It’s downright cute.”

 

“Yeah, yeah… whatever.” Wynonna grumbles as she walks away as she chooses to ignore Rosita’s comments in favor of helping Jeremy finish what he’s doing.

 

* * *

 

 

Chrissy can’t help but laugh as she takes in how many snacks Shae has already loaded into their shopping cart after five minutes in the grocery store. “Don’t you think you’re overdoing it a bit?” She asks her with a teasing smile as she watches as Shae struggles to decide between three different styles of tortilla chips.

 

“Yeah, I have thought about it… and I probably am.” Shae acknowledges as she grabs two of the three choices and tosses them into their shopping cart. “But you said so yourself, Waverly’s been looking down all week and that’s not what I wanted  at all when we started this whole thing, so I’m trying to make it up to her, _to them_ , now. So, yeah… I might be overdoing it a little… or a lot, but if it means that they’ll get an unforgettable first date out of this, it’s worth it.”

 

“Aw, Shae, you’re such a softie.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“I think you’ve been spending too much time around Wynonna.” Chrissy states with an amused smile as they continue making their way down the aisle.

 

“I think you’re right.” Shae agrees with a smirk.

 

* * *

 

 

Wynonna sighs deeply, barely resisting the urge to start muttering moodily to herself as she shifts from one foot to the other, knowing that it’ll only annoy her little sister more if she gives in. She can’t risk slowing her down, she knows that, but her patience is starting to wear thin as she watches as Waverly keeps sifting through her wardrobe. Waverly scrunches her face up as she tries to concentrate while she looks through her clothes trying to narrow down her options. “Waves, come on! We’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up and just pick something to wear.” Wynonna can’t help but sound exasperated. She sighs again and decides to take the opportunity to pull her phone out of her pocket. She types a quick text to the group chat, letting them know that the Haught siblings are probably going to have to stall Nicole for a little bit.

 

“Don’t stand there pretending like this isn’t your fault, Wynonna. I would’ve already picked out an outfit and we’d probably be halfway to wherever it is you’re taking me if you’d given me a better indication of what I should wear, but you’ve been completely unhelpful.” Waverly growls out, barely resisting the urge to shoot a glare in her sister’s direction as she keeps her eyes on the task at hand.

 

“Oh, come on, Waverly, you’re not being fair!” Wynonna exclaims defensively. “I told you to wear something comfortable.”

 

“Wy, you barged into my room thirty minutes ago without knocking, like you always do, demanding that I get dressed and that I should wear something comfortable because we weren’t going anywhere high-end or whatever, but told me that what I was already wearing when you walked in was too comfortable –“

 

“Okay, yeah, but in my defense… you weren’t wearing a bra when I walked in here, Waves.” Wynonna is quick to interrupt. “So, like I said… _too_ comfortable. Quick Question: does Haught Shot know you’ve taken to stealing her t-shirts as a hobby?” She asks with a smirk that tells Waverly that Wynonna already knows the answer.

 

“I don’t have to answer that.” Waverly mutters as her cheeks tint pink and she returns her attention to the contents of her closet. “Seriously, Wynonna, help me out here. What should I wear?”

 

“Okay…” Wynonna sighs. As much as she hates to admit it, Waverly had made a good point. She hadn’t been very helpful to her at all, and they were dangerously close to running late. They have to start making their way to Nicole’s house soon and knowing Waverly, she knows that questions will be asked when she doesn’t see her truck in their driveway. So, she makes her way towards the bedroom door and stops before walking out. “Dress like you do whenever we’re all hanging out as a group.” _Or, you know… dress like you’re trying to impress Nicole without being too obvious_ , Wynonna can’t help but think to herself as she throws a wave in Waverly’s direction and walks out.

 

She hears a little more shuffling from Waverly’s room, smiling to herself when she hears the bathroom door open and close, the lock sliding into place behind her sister. Finally, Wynonna thinks with an amused smile as she pulls her phone back out to check in with the group chat.

 

**WYNONNA: Waverly’s getting ready now. How’s everything going with Haught Shot?**

**SHAE: Good. We’re good. We’ve come up with a plan to get Nicole to walk into the backyard that won’t raise to many questions.**

**WYNONNA: What’s the plan?**

**SHAE: Nathan’s going to tell her to get the fire pit started so they can have a bonfire… then he’s going to lock the back door behind her.**

**WYNONNA: And what if she just walks to the side gate to walk around the house instead?**

**SHAE: We’ve got that covered too, literally, because that’s where you’ll be coming in with Waverly.**

**WYNONNA: Sweet! Okay, I’m pretty sure Waverly’s almost done getting ready, so I guess I’ll see you guys in a few minutes.**

**WYNONNA: GO, TEAM, GO!**

Wynonna smiles to herself as she slips her phone back into her pocket. She’s both excited and a little bit terrified to see how Nicole and Waverly are going to react, but the rest of their group of misfits have all put in a lot of work make this a night that they’ll never forget.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Earpers! I know it's been a looong while since I last updated, but my work schedule is beyond hectic and I can't always sit down and write no matter how much I'd rather be doing that than working. We're getting towards the end of this story as well as Season 3 of our shitshow, and I'd just like to take a moment to thank all of you for well you've all received it. Earpers are truly the best! Now, on to the next chapter... happy reading!

"Well, why can't you do it, Nathan?" Nicole growls out as she makes her way into the house, not stopping until she reaches the double doors that lead into the backyard. She hears her siblings’ footsteps behind her, so she doesn’t bother to turn around to look at her brother as she continues. "You're the one who wanted to have a bonfire in the first place. You should be the one who sets up the fire pit."  
  
"Come on, Nicole, stop being so grouchy." Nathan whines out as he watches Nicole open the doors and make her way outside. Haley walks up behind him with her phone in her hand as she scrolls through the group chat that Wynonna had added them to that morning. "She forgot to turn the back-porch lights on before she walked outside." He says with a smirk.  
  
"That’s not really surprising considering how busy she was arguing with you.” Haley acknowledges with an identical smirk on her face. “Everybody else is outside. They’re all staying out of sight until Waverly is brought in through the backyard. They’ll be coming inside in a few minutes.” Haley explains in a hushed tone. “Wynonna says she’s on her way over with Waverly right now. Lock the door.”

  
Nathan laughs quietly to himself as he does what he was told. "Go, Team. Go."

 

* * *

  
Nicole starts walking over to the fire pit, only to stop when she realizes she forgot to turn the lights on in her haste to get away from starts walking towards the fire pit, only to stop when she realizes that she forgot to turn on the porch lights in her haste to get away from her annoying brother. _Crap_ , Nicole begrudgingly thinks to herself as she decides to forgo continuing her argument with Nathan by walking back into the house and stubbornly keeps walking towards the fire pit, only to stop abruptly when she spots the familiar truck parked in her backyard. _What’s Wynonna’s truck doing in my backyard?_ Nicole asks herself, a confused expression on her face as she makes her way towards it, half-expecting to see her best friend sitting in the driver’s seat. "What the hell is going on?" She asks out-loud as she notices the inflatable screen.

 

She turns her attention to the house, expecting to see expressions on her siblings’ faces similar to her own only to see that the door had been closed behind her. She hears the gate opening by the side of the house and her curiosity peaks as she hears two very distinct voices talking amongst themselves. _The Earp Sisters_.  
  
"Well, you could’ve just told me that we were going to be hanging out with Nicole.” Waverly says to Wynonna.  
  
"I mean, I kind of did." Wynonna says back, her tone amused. “It’s not my fault that you can’t pick up on context clues.”

 

“Whatever you say, Wynonna.” Waverly mutters as she makes her way into the Haughts’ backyard with Wynonna at her heels. She falters slightly when she catches sight on Nicole standing on her back-porch.  
  
Suddenly, the back-porch lights turn on causing all three heads to turn towards the house. Nicole expects to see Nathan and Haley standing by the double doors, but she can’t see them. She only sees the lights turned on in what now looks to be an empty house. “What the hell –“  
  
"Haught Shot!" Wynonna exclaims overenthusiastically as she pulls Nicole into a hug, leaving Waverly with a confused expression on her face as she stares at them. Nicole awkwardly pats her best friend on the back as she sways them from one side to the other and she feels her cheeks start to redden when she makes direct eye-contact with Waverly who has a mixture of amusement and confusion on her face. She can’t help but take Waverly in. _God, she looks beautiful_ , she thinks to herself. “Okay, I don’t have a lot of time to explain this to you right now, so I’m going to give you the gist of it all, and I’ll have Shae send you a more in-depth text message in a few minutes, sound good? Good.” Wynonna quickly rattles off in Nicole’s ear. “We might’ve set you up on a date tonight… with Waverly.”

 

“You did what?!” Nicole grits out as she tightens her grip on Wynonna.

   
"Fuck, I always forget how strong you are." Wynonna whimpers out in a harsh whisper. "Trust us, Haught. We know what we’re doing."  
  
"Us?! What do you mean _we_?" Nicole asks through gritted teeth.

 

“Shit.” Wynonna mutters as Nicole finally releases her and non-to-gently puts her hand on Wynonna’s shoulder and give it a tight squeeze before her gaze slowly reconnects with Waverly’s. Wynonna almost gives into the temptation to roll her eyes as she catches the immediate shift in Nicole’s demeanor and realizes that this is her chance to escape unnoticed. She’s going to take full advantage of her best friend making googly-eyes at her little sister and vice-versa.  
  
Neither Nicole or Waverly are paying any attention to what’s going on around them, too busy smiling shyly at one another to notice as Wynonna’ slowly starts back away.

 

Wynonna goes up the porch steps carefully, more mindful of how loud her boots can be than she’s ever bothered to be before, backs up slowly until she reaches the double doors. She hears the door unlock behind her with a click. She quickly shuffles inside, quietly closing the door before she allows herself to let out of a relieved sigh. “Fuck.” She breathes out before she turns to look around the room to see Jeremy, Rosita, Haley, and Chrissy’s heads popping up slightly from their spots on the couch, and Perry, Doc, Dolls, and Nathan standing around the kitchen trying to pretend like they hadn’t all been glued to the kitchen window that gave them all a clear view of what was going on outside. “Nacho?” Jeremy asks as he lifts a large bowl of tortilla chips in Wynonna’s direction and nods his head towards a medium-sized bowl of nacho cheese.

 

“Hell yeah.” Wynonna says enthusiastically as she makes her way to the couch and sits down, squeezing in-between Shae and Jeremy as she grabs a handful of tortilla chips, smiling gratefully as Shae grabs the cheese dip from the coffee table and holds it out within arm’s reach.  
  
"How did it go?" Shae asks.  
  
"Well, Haught Shot didn't seem happy to be ambushed into a date or whatever." Wynonna answers with a shrug of her shoulders. "Which is... fair, but that hardly matters now anyway. Waverly's got her attention, so it's on them to finally get their shit together.” She says as she pops a melted cheese covered tortilla chip into her mouth. “Oh, Shae, send Nicole a text!” Wynonna says in-between chews.

 

“A text saying _what_ exactly?” She asks as she grabs her phone from the coffee table, unlocks her screen, and taps on Nicole’s name.

 

“Tell her why we did this.” Wynonna states. “Tell her what she needs to do.”

 

“You’re such a softie.” Wynonna says with a laugh after she reads the texts herself.

 

“Shut up, Wynonna.” Shae replies with a smirk.

 

* * *

 

Nicole can’t help but let her eyes wander around them. She takes in the inflatable screen, knowing that it’s Jeremy’s doing, Wynonna’s truck parked perfectly in front of it. _Are those pillows and blankets in the bed of the truck?_ Nicole asks herself as she unconsciously rubs at the back of her neck. What are they expecting me to do? She wonders as her eyes drift back to Waverly, her lips quirking into a small smile when the brunette averts her eyes when their gazes met. _Yeah, I definitely didn’t imagine that._ Nicole’s phone vibrates in her back-pocket and it takes everything she has not to sigh in relief. Wynonna had promised that she’d be getting a text message explaining what was going on, and thankfully, it seemed like her best friend had delivered. _Well, she made Shae the messenger, but still._

 

**SHAE: Hey, Haught… I’m sorry (not sorry) that we ambushed you with this, but we meant well. I swear.**

**SHAE: We’ve set you guys up with a movie, snacks, and a truck bed. Just get comfortable, press _play_ , and enjoy.**

**SHAE: Now, go get your girl. We love you!**

 

* * *

 

Nicole quickly looks at the text messages, reading them and then rereading them to make sure she hasn’t missed anything. _Our friends did all of this for us_? She looks up and meets Waverly’s gaze again, knowing that she’d been watching her attentively the entire time.

 

“What’s wrong?” Waverly asks with a confused expression on her face. She’d been rushed into getting ready by Wynonna, who’d been completely evasive every time she’d asked her what they were doing and she’d only gotten more confused when they’d left their house only to walk into the Haughts’ backyard, and now she found herself standing awkwardly in front of the her sister’s best friend, _her_ best friend, who she had feelings for. _What the hell is going on?_  
  
“Nothing is wrong.” Nicole says, quick to reassure her. She lifts her hand up and gently places it on Waverly’s upper arm. “But it looks like it’s just going to be the two of us tonight… is that okay?” She asks, unable to completely disguise the hint of uncertainty in her voice. Nicole can practically feel her heart as it thumps against her ribcage while she waits for Waverly’s answer. Nicole loves hanging out with Waverly, she always has, but this would be unknown territory, and while she’s excited at the prospect of spending time with brunette in a date setting… it’s a dream come true, she’s also feeling nervous. _What if she only agreed to hang out tonight because she thought all of our friends were going to be here? Stop thinking like that. It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve hung out on by ourselves. We’ve done it hundreds of times! But we’ve only ever hung out as friends. Get out of your feelings, Nicole. Fuck, my inner voice is starting to sound like Wynonna._

  
  
“Yes, of course it’s okay, Nicole.” Waverly answers with a shy smile. “I meant it when I said that I missed hanging out with you.”

 

“Oh, okay, great!” Nicole exclaims, unable to contain the relief in her voice, barely resisting the urge to cringe at how overenthusiastic she must’ve sounded to Waverly. “How about we watch a movie? We can get comfortable in the bed of Wynonna’s truck?” She asks hesitantly, hoping that the brunette wouldn’t be upset with how her suggestion might’ve sounded. _I meant it in a completely innocent way,_ Nicole tells herself as she tries to keep herself from picturing the two of them cuddled in the bed of Wynonna’s truck with Waverly sitting happily between Nicole’s legs as they watch whatever movie their friends had left queued up.

 

“We’re having a movie night under the stars?” Waverly asks her with a smile that takes Nicole’s breath away. “That sounds perfect.”

 

* * *

   
“What’s happening out there?” Wynonna asks as she grabs another handful of tortilla chips, dipping them into the nacho cheese that’s taken permanent residence on Shae’s lap.

 

“Uh, nothing really.” Perry answers as he keeps looking out the window. “They’re kind of just standing there – staring at each other – with those goofy smiles on their faces.”

 

“How is that different from any other day of the week?” Shae asks with a roll of her eyes.

 

“It’s not.” Haley says with a smirk as she plops herself down into the only unoccupied spot on the couch.

 

“Hold on a second… there’s movement.” Perry says as he watches as Nicole and Waverly make their way to the back of the Wynonna’s truck. He can’t help but smile to himself as the redhead helps the brunette into the bed of the truck before pulling herself up.  
  
“What’s happening?” Nathan asks excitedly as he gets closer to where Perry is watching what’s happening out the window with Doc on his heels.

 

“They’re starting to get comfortable in the bed of Wynonna’s truck.” Perry whispers with a smile.

 

“1. They’re outside, so you don’t have to whisper.” Wynonna says through a mouthful of tortilla chips. “And 2. Ew.”  
  
“Shut up, Wynonna.” Shae and Rosita say simultaneously.

 

* * *

 

“What movie are we watching?” Waverly asks while she works to make herself more comfortable by slipping her shoes off and grabbing two of the blankets that were sitting amongst the pile that’d been laid out.

 

“Honestly?” Nicole asks rhetorically. “I’m not sure.” She admits with a sheepish shrug of her shoulders.

 

“You’re not?” Waverly asks, a confused expression on her face as she watches Nicole slip her own shoes off before she sits next to Waverly, piles a few pillows behind herself and grabs the remote control that’d been left in the middle of the truck bed.

 

“No, I didn’t plan this, so I’m going into all of this as blind as you are.” Nicole tells her with a dimpled grin. “But we’ve been told to get comfortable, press play, and enjoy, and I’m okay with doing that if it’s okay with you.”

 

Waverly bites her lip as she can't quite contain her amusement as she watches Nicole struggle to take her shoes off and leave them and the end of the bed of the truck where she'd already left hers. She doesn't fully understand what's going on, but she has the sneaking suspicion that their friends are behind whatever this is.  
  
_This feels like a date_ , Waverly thinks to herself with a hopeful flutter in her chest. _Actually, this feels very much like the dream date that I mentioned to Chrissy, Jeremy, and Rosita a few months ago. Well, at least now I know they were paying attention._  
  
"Okay, I think we're ready to go. I checked the small cooler and we're set on drinks, there's chips, salsa, and guacamole, and we've even got an assortment of candy to choose from." Nicole says as she makes herself comfortable at Waverly's side. "Blanket?"  
  
"Yes, please." Waverly says with a smile so beautiful that Nicole's breathing stutters. "What movie are we watching?" She asks as she spreads the blanket out, making sure that Nicole's legs are covered as well.  
  
"Uh, I don't know." Nicole admits as she grabs the remote control and tries to hit the start button. She struggles for a few seconds before it catches and then she settles back into the pillows that their friends had painstakingly organized for them earlier.  
  
"She's the Man!" Waverly exclaims with a smile as the opening credits start and she makes herself more comfortable at Nicole's side. "It looks like we're watching your favorite movie."  
  
"Yeah, it looks like we are." Nicole says as a smile threatens to break through on her face as she sees and hears Waverly's excitement. "Is that okay?" Nicole still asks.  
  
"Yeah, it's great!" Waverly quickly reassures. "I kind of love this movie too." She admits as she watches Viola kiss Justin, barely containing a grimace at the realization that Champ's behavior towards Nicole and the redhead’s athletic ability had rivaled Viola's soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.  
  
"God, he's such a dickweed." Nicole grumbles to herself as she opens one of the half a dozen bags of tortilla chips and a jar of medium salsa to share. _Like Champ the Chump_ , she thinks to herself.  
  
Waverly laughs lightly as she silently takes a handful of tortilla chips and places them on her lap so that she can individually dip every single chip in the salsa. They watch the movie in comfortable silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's company as their nerves slowly settle down. _Why was I so nervous about this?_ Waverly asks herself. _Nicole and I have hung out countless times before - just the two of us, she reminds herself, but there's something different about tonight. This feels more like a date. I'm pretty sure it is a date, but what if Nicole doesn't see it that way?... and the nerves are back. Great._  
  
"I wouldn't know what to do with myself if our school randomly decided to end its girls' athletic programs." Nicole says as she crosses her arms, her arms tightly held against her chest as she grits her teeth at the condescending tone the boys' coach uses to explain what's happening to Viola and her teammates. "I hate that smug bastard."  
  
Waverly simply laughs. She wasn't lying when she said she loved this movie, but if she were completely honest, it had more to do with Nicole's commentary than the movie itself. "Yeah, but look on the bright side, Viola broke up with Justin in the same scene."  
  
"Finally!" Nicole sighs as she shoots a charming smile in Waverly's direction.  
  
"We're barely 15 minutes into the movie." Waverly reminds her with an amused laugh. "It's not like they spend the entire storyline as a couple, so there's no need to be so dramatic."  
  
Nicole mock-gasps. "Take that back, Waverly Earp!"  
  
Waverly just laughs again and shakes her head, returning her attention to the movie, knowing it won't be too long before something else happens on screen that's going to spark more of Nicole's snarky commentary.

 

* * *

 

“What’s going on now?” Rosita asks from where she’s sitting comfortably at Shae’s side, subconsciously leaning into her as they turn their attention to the small group of guys and Wynonna standing by the kitchen window.

 

“They’ve started watching the movie.” Jeremy informs them excitedly. “They look like they’re pretty comfortable in the truck bed, so good job on organizing all of that, Rosita.”

 

“Hey!” Perry exclaims. “We helped!” He says as he gestures to himself and Dolls.

 

“Right.” Jeremy says with a nod. “Good job.”

 

“Do you think we should give them a little nudge in the right direction?” Shae asks.

 

“What more can we do than what we’ve already done?” Doc asks.

 

“Well, they’re oblivious idiots when it comes to their feelings, so they might still not grasp what we set into motion tonight.” Shae reminds them.

 

“Crap. She’s right.” Wynonna says as she stuffs the rest of her doughnut into her mouth. “Somebody text Nicole.”

 

“Not it.” Shae says with a raise of her hand, Rosita, Haley, Nathan, Dolls, Doc, Jeremy, Perry, Chrissy, and Jeremy quickly following suit.

 

“Damn it.” Wynonna says as she grabs the napkin that Doc offers her with a grunt. She wipes her fingertips, huffs out a breath, and grabs her phone from her back-pocket. “What am I supposed to say?” She asks as she looks around their group of misfits. “Damn it.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Earpers! I hope those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving enjoyed yours. I, like most of you, are thankful for this fandom. Now, I know it's been a while since I've posted, but work is hectic to begin with and it only gets worse as the end of the year draws near. I'd like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who've read, reviewed, and left Kudos on this short story. I didn't expect for it to be more than two chapters long, but here we are. And while Taylor Swift's You Belong with Me was part of what inspired me to write this, it's quite obvious that this story took a life of it's own. You'll see that I've made a few changes to the Earp/Gibson family, and hopefully, it's well received. This is the final chapter and I really hope you enjoy it. Happy reading!

Wynonna reaches into her back-pocket and pulls her phone out, glancing at the screen and answering once she realizes it's Julian. "Hey, Jules." She greets in a slight whisper as she retreats from where her friends are still crouched down trying to eavesdrop on Nicole and Waverly's date.

"Hey, Wy..." Julian greets back, confusion in his voice. "Why are you whispering? You're not trying to break into Shorty's after hours for a drink again, are you?"

"No." She whispers back indignantly. "It's Saturday night, Julian." She reminds him and hears him chuckle lightly in understanding.

"Gus." Julian says, amusement in his voice. "But your Mama asked me to call you. She wants you to explain why your truck is parked in the Haughts' backyard right now when neither you nor Waverly appear to be home."

"Uh, it's kind of a long story." Wynonna sheepishly admits.

"You're on speaker phone." Michelle's voice says. "Summarize, Wynonna."

"Right." Wynonna sighs. "We'd originally planned to trick Nicole and Waverly into going to the homecoming dance together by getting Chrissy to convince Waverly to go stag with her and we were going to come up with some bullshit excuse to get Nicole to show up looking like only Haughty with a Body -"

"You've got to stop calling her that, Wynonna." Michelle interrupts with a laugh as Julian's own chuckle can be heard in the background. "You know that Waverly hates it when you ogle her not-yet-girlfriend like that."

"Yes, Mama." Wynonna says with a roll of her eyes. "Back to the story, so there was a rumor going on around campus about how Perky Tits - I don't know what that chick's actual name is, and I don't care to know to be honest - wanted to get all handsy with my best friend on the dance floor, so we talked about it and decided that we couldn't let Perky Tits get the opportunity to do that, so Shae asked Nicole to be her date to the dance -"

"And Waverly wasn't too happy about that." Julian interrupts as he shares a knowing look with his wife.

"Obviously not, which means that not only did Haught Sauce not know that Waverly had broken up with Chump -"

"How did she not know?!" Michelle exclaims.

"Because Waverly wanted to be the one to tell her, but Nicole has been in her feelings lately and she's been avoiding Waverly because of that. I know that they're at the top of their class and all, but they're oblivious idiots, Mama." Wynonna exclaims in annoyance.

"Waverly thought that Nicole and Shae were going to get back together and our plans to get them together at the homecoming dance kind of went to shit, so we decided to shift gears and ended up planning the perfect date for the two of them in the Haughts' backyard which is why my truck is parked outside."

"You're such a softie, Wynonna." Julian says with the hint of a proud smile in his voice.

  
"Whatever." Wynonna groans.

"You lot are spying on them right now, aren't you?" Michelle asks knowingly.

"Yep, so I'm to hang up now and go back to seeing how things are going."

"I expect you to keep us in the loop." Michelle says sternly.

"I'll add you guys to the group chat." Wynonna says with a smile as she hangs up and adds Julian and Michelle to the group chat.

"Did I miss anything good?" Wynonna asks in a whisper as crouches back down and retakes her place.

“Nope.” Shae says with a disappointed sigh.

"Uh, did our parents just get added to the group chat?" Nathan asks as he stares at his own phone screen in confusion.

"Yep." Wynonna confirmed with a sigh, knowing that Michelle had taken it upon herself to add the Haughts, Gus, and Shorty to the group chat. “I’m going to text Nicole.”

 

* * *

 

  
**WYNONNA: Hey, Nicole.**

**WYNONNA: Psst.**

**WYNONNA: Nicole!**

**WYNONNA: NICOLE!**

**WYNONNA: Nicki!**

**NICOLE: Don’t call me that!**

**WYNONNA: Finally! And I wouldn’t have called you that if you hadn’t taken your sweet-ass time replying to my texts.**

**NICOLE: What do you want?**

**WYNONNA: Don’t get snippy with me! I’m just trying to make sure you get your girl.**

**NICOLE: Waverly doesn’t belong to anyone.**

**WYNONNA: Seriously?! You know what I meant.**

**WYNONNA: And also, good answer. But seriously, dude! Make. A. Move.**

**NICOLE: This is weird.**

**WYNONNA: What’s weird?**

**NICOLE: It’s weird that YOU’RE the one who’s telling me to make a move on Waverly. She’s your sister.**

**WYNONNA: ... I had to.**

**NICOLE: Not it?**

**WYNONNA: Yep.**

**WYNONNA: Stop trying to distract me. Look, Haught, I know that your feelings for Waverly are genuine, okay? I wouldn’t be egging you on if I didn’t.**

**WYNONNA: I know you’re scared about what might happen, but take a chance, okay? Talk to her.**

**NICOLE: You guys are watching us, aren’t you?**

**WYNONNA: Good luck, Haught Shot!**

“What’s going on over there?” Waverly asks in hushed whisper. If she had to guess, she’d say that Nicole had been talking to Wynonna.

“It’s just Wynonna being Wynonna.” Nicole answers with a hint of amusement in her tone as she tosses her phone haphazardly at her side and settles herself back down, inching herself closer to Waverly as subtly as she can. “Are you – are you comfortable?” Nicole asks, hoping she doesn’t sound as nervous as she feels. Breathe.

"What is my sister doing right now?" Waverly asks curiously. "She kind of just disappeared on us without saying a word."

"I think she's hanging out inside my house with all of our friends." Nicole answers honestly as she gets up slightly and looks in the direction of her house, only to have the lights in the kitchen turn off before she has a chance to count the amount of people who are hanging out around her kitchen island. You guys are nowhere near as subtle as you think you are. Actually, that's not exactly true... I would've realized what you guys were planning sooner if it were, Nicole begrudgingly admits to herself.

"Wait, what?" Waverly asks as she gets up slightly to look in the direction of Nicole's house, squinting as she tries to see what's going on inside before settling back into her seat when she can't see anything. "Why do you think that?"

"Honestly?" Nicole asks as she grabs the remote control and pauses the movie. "Our friends planned all of this." She admits as she gestures around them with a sheepish smile. You've got to be honest with her, Nicole reminds herself as she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, trying to calm her nerves. "They set us up on a date, Waverly."

"They - why would they do that?" Waverly asks, her tone slightly incredulous as she tries to understand why their friends would set them up on a date without saying a single word to her about it. Why would they arrange all of this? Why would Nicole in a situation where she could potential be made uncomfortable with unrealistic expectations of what this date might bring? "I'm sorry, Nicole."

"Sorry?" Nicole asks, unable to hide her confusion. "What are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything wrong, Waverly." She tries to reassure her, while trying to contain her own curiosity as to why the brunette would feel compelled to apologize after what she's just admitted to her. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you. Our friends meant well, but they never should've done this. It's not fair to you that they've put you in this position without giving you a head's up."

 

* * *

 

  
"What's going on out there?" Shae asks as she scrolls through the text messages that Nicole and Wynonna had been exchanging before Wynonna had suddenly told the guys to turn off the lights and get away from the kitchen window.

"I think they paused the movie." Jeremy says as he looks outside and takes in the same image on the inflatable screen of the actress playing Monique while Nicole and Waverly are sitting up in the bed of the truck. "And they're talking now."

"What are they talking about?" Wynonna asks as she looks from Nicole to Waverly.

"Well, you did tell Nicole to make a move." Shae says with a shrug of her shoulders. "That's probably what she's doing right now."

"That, or Waverly asked her what was going on and Nicole spilled the beans." Dolls says, taking in the incredulous faces of some of the members of their group as he looks around the dimly lit living room.

"Nicole can't lie to Waverly." Doc says in agreement. "We all know that."

"They're right." Haley, Wynonna, and Shae say simultaneously.

"I really want to know what they're talking about." Wynonna says with a whine.

"I think I've got an idea." Nathan says as he starts making his way towards the double doors that lead into the backyard. "They're going to be too wrapped up in their conversation to remember that we're in here." He tells the group as he grabs on to the door handle. "If we're quiet, we should be able to able to get a gist of what they're saying because of how sound seems to travel in our backyard."

"Sweet!" Wynonna says as she pulls her boots off and slowly slides her way across the hardwood floor to crouch by Nathan's side, the rest of their group following behind her.

"I have a feeling this idea is going to backfire on us." Doc whispers in Dolls' ear.

"Yeah." Dolls sighs. "I know what you mean, but good luck trying to tell any of them that." He nods in their direction as Nathan twists the handle and slowly pushes the door open enough so that they might be able to hear what's going on.

 

* * *

  
"What are you talking about Nicole?" Waverly asks.

"Waverly, I uh - I've been hesitant to talk to you about this because I don't want to put you in an awkward position, but I've been encouraged by Wynonna, Shae -"

"Are you guys getting back together?" Waverly quickly interrupts.

"What?!" Nicole asks, her confusion clear. "No, no, no. Shae and I are not getting back together." She rushes to reassure Waverly. "Why would you think that?" She asks.

"I - I don't know. I just thought - you're going to the dance with her and I thought - honestly, I don't know what I thought." Waverly rambles.

"Shae and I are going to the dance together, but we're only going as friends. Honestly, I think Shae asked me to be her date to save me from Perky Tits' clutches more than anything else." Nicole explains unable to keep herself from laughing slightly as she remembers the day that Shae had barged into her bedroom claiming that she was only trying to save her life before she asked her to be her date to the dance.

"Oh..." Waverly sighs. "I guess - I thought that since you two have been spending so much time together lately, you're partners for Mrs. Lucado's project, and you're going to the dance with her... I assumed you'd decided that you wanted to give your relationship with Shae a second chance or something." Waverly says sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"Waves, you don't have to apologize for anything." Nicole says, taking a deep breath before she takes the brunette's hand in both of her own, gently playing with Waverly's fingertips in what she hopes is a reassuring way. "We've both made a habit out of jumping to conclusions... we should probably stop doing that to be honest."

 

* * *

  
"We really fucked that up, didn't we?" Shae whispers with groan as she tilts her head up to meet Wynonna's gaze.

"We meant well." Wynonna reminds her in a whisper while she shrugs her shoulders. "And you did kind of save her life."

"What did I miss?" Nathan asks, keeping his voice low as he looks from Nicole and Waverly to Shae and Wynonna.

"Weren't you listening?" Haley asks in an exasperated whisper. "Perky Tits wanted Nicole to take her to the dance." She informs him. "And we all agreed that it's what Shae had to do. We all know that that other girl would've gotten too handsy with our baby sister on the dance floor."

"Wait, I don't remember agreeing to that. Why don't I remember talking to you all about it?" Nathan asks.

"Because you were the last person added to the group chat and the conversation was had before that, so you didn't know about it." Wynonna answers nonchalantly.

"... assholes." Nathan mutters to himself.

"Focus." Rosita whisper-yells as she watches in amusement as everyone in the group immediately settle down and redirects their attention to what's happening outside like scolded children.

 

* * *

 

  
“Waverly, I –“ Nicole stops, her nerves reemerging as she looks down into her lap where she’d been subconsciously playing with her hands and Waverly can’t help but smile slightly to herself when she notices Nicole’s nervousness. “I would never be able to count how many times I’ve been in my bedroom, trying to pretend that I didn’t notice when you were pacing around your own bedroom while you were arguing on the phone with moronic boyfriend –“

  
"Ex-boyfriend." Waverly quickly corrects, trying to interrupt Nicole, but the redhead hadn’t even noticed.

“– of yours on the other end of the line who was too stupid to realize how lucky he was to have any of your attention at all. I-I’ve had feelings for you for a lot longer than even I’d realized, and I know I could’ve and probably should’ve said something sooner, but I couldn’t bring myself to, you know? Because you’re Waverly Earp and you deserve the best of everything and –“ Nicole stops speaking abruptly when Waverly gently grabs her face between her hands and starts to stoke her cheeks with her thumbs in a soothing manner, silently coaxing her into taking a few seconds to breathe. “I’m sorry.” Nicole says somewhat bashfully after a few minutes of comfortable silence between them.

“What in the world are you apologizing for?” Waverly asks with a mixture of amusement and curiosity in her voice.

"Unloading on you like that."

“You never have to apologize for being honest with me, Nicole.” Waverly adamantly reassures her. “We’ve always been honest with each other about everything… well, almost everything.” She corrects with a teasing smile that Nicole doesn’t see.

“Well, I think that we’ll be able to say that we’ve been completely honest with each other after tonight.” Nicole says with a small grin. “Waverly –“

“No.” Waverly quickly interrupts. “You’ve had your turn to talk. It’s my turn now.” Nicole lifts her head up slightly, finally meeting the brunette’s gaze. _I love Assertive!Waverly_ , she thinks to herself, biting her lip to keep herself from smiling too brightly and failing spectacularly at it. “Nicole Rayleigh Haught, stop smiling at me like that when I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you.” Waverly admonishes even as her own smile gives her away. “Seriously.”

"I’m sorry." Nicole apologizes with a light laugh. "I'm sorry. Please, continue." She says with a nod.

"Nicole, to be honest… I don’t think I’ve ever been more afraid of anything then I was on the day when I started to realize what my feelings for you might actually mean.” Waverly admits shyly. “You’re not the only one who handled us – our feelings for each other – poorly. Trust me. When I gave myself the chance to understand just how much you’d come to mean to me and why, not only were you in a relationship with Shae at the time but were – and continue to be – my big sister’s best friend, so I got scared about what having feelings for you could mean.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Nicole whispers with an understanding smile that makes Waverly melt.

“We’re a mess.” Waverly says with a light laugh, as she gently grabs Nicole’s face between her hands and pulls her in closely enough that their noses brush. “Nicole, I-I want to be brave.” She admits.

“Yeah?” Nicole asks in a whisper, not wanting to risk ruining the moment by speaking too loudly.

“Yeah.” Waverly confirms. “I want to be with you.” She says as she meets Nicole’s gaze then shifts her gaze to her lips. Her breath catches as Nicole’s tongue peaks out. She looks up again and smiles as her gaze meets Nicole’s, she leans in, her head tilting slightly to the side as her lips meet Nicole’s and suddenly it’s as if everything shifts and she can’t get enough as she pulls Nicole closer to her still. She lowers her hands slowly, letting her fingertips graze soft skin and a strong jawline before she lets her hands drift to the back of Nicole’s neck, silently encouraging her as she tangles her fingers in fiery locks. She wants to get closer, because apparently sitting in the redhead’s lap isn’t enough – not that she remembers when she’d gotten there – and she’s planning to do exactly that when she’s pulled out of her Nicole-induced haze by the sound of a door crashing into the wall and Wynonna’s pained voice.

 

* * *

 

  
“Fuck.” Wynonna groans as she tries to rub the pain out of her elbow. “They’ve stopped kissing, haven’t they?” She asks her friends who all seem to have frozen in their spots, eyes shifting between Wynonna laying on the ground and Waverly and Nicole in the truck bed.

“Yeah, they have.” Shae says while the rest of their friends simply nod their heads. “What do we do now?”

“SCATTER!” Wynonna yells as she grabs onto Doc’s hand, letting herself be pulled off the ground as the rest of their friends start tripping over themselves to get into the house. “We’ll talk about this later!” She yells over her shoulder as she runs into the house with Doc following closely behind her.

“Smooth, Wynonna.” Shae says with a laugh, as she continues scrolling through her phone while Wynonna and Doc settle gracelessly onto the couch beside her. “So… who volunteers to update the parents?”

 

* * *

  
“Why am I not surprised?” Nicole asks with a light laugh. “Wynonna’s definitely made a habit out of interruptions.”

Waverly hums. “Yeah, I rather not think about what she might’ve interrupted of yours in the past.”

“Right.” Nicole says with a wince before she clears her throat and squeezes Waverly’s hips lightly. _When did my hands get there?_ She wonders to herself. “Wynonna left her keys in the ignition.” Nicole says with a nod towards the cab. “Would you be opposed to continuing our date somewhere where our friends couldn’t keep an eye on us?” She asks as she pulls Waverly closer to her, unable to stop herself from nuzzling her nose over Waverly’s jawline.

“What exactly did you have in mind?” Waverly asks with a smile that she tries and fails to bite back.

Nicole hums in thought as she places gentle kisses along Waverly’s jawline, slowly descending towards her neck. “We could take Wynonna’s truck elsewhere. We could gaze at the stars and talk, if you’d like to.”

“It is a beautiful night.” Waverly agrees as she tilts her head and kisses Nicole’s lips again. “I’d love to.”

Nicole smiles brightly at that and she places one more kiss on Waverly’s lips before she shifts, silently urging Waverly to stand up. They work to get things organized in the truck bed, making sure that they won’t lose anything on their drive, Nicole hops out of the truck bed once they’re happy with how they’ve set everything up and she extends her hands out to catch Waverly as she hops out a few seconds behind her. Nicole grasps Waverly’s hand in her own, not yet ready to break their connection and she smiles to herself as Waverly intertwines their fingers. They walk to the passenger side of the truck and Nicole opens the door, silently urging Waverly to get in and waiting until Waverly’s settled into the truck before closing the door and jogging towards the driver’s side and jumping in. “Ready?” She asks as she clicks her seatbelt into place and throws a dimpled smile in Waverly’s direction.

“Ready.” Waverly says with a smile of her own, leaning in to give her a kiss once more before Nicole turns the key in the ignition and puts the truck in drive. She doesn’t know how the rest of their date is going to go, but she has a feeling that by the end of the night they’ll have no choice but to thank their meddling friends for stepping in like they had, when they had.

 

* * *

 

  
“They just took my truck, didn’t they?” Wynonna asks even though she already knows the answer.

“Yep.” Everyone else answers unanimously and unnecessarily.

Wynonna just sighs as she grabs Doc’s arm and lays it across her shoulders. “Well, Operation WayHaught is a success. Now, let’s enjoy the rest of our night and not think about what my best friend and little sister are doing by themselves because of reasons.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for coming along for the ride.


End file.
